The Dead Don't Stay Dead
by shadizsato
Summary: Bakugo Katsuki pushes things too far and it has terrible consequences for Midoriya Izuku. Sometimes, when someone dies, they don't stay dead. Join Izuku as he tries to figure out what his life has turned into when push comes to shove. Izuku finishes high school and sets his sights on joining the prestigious U.A. University. Aged-up characters. Pairings already decided!
1. The Return

**Chapter 1: The Return**

**AN: This idea has been brewing in my head for a while so I thought I'd start writing and holy crap, I didn't expect to write so much so fast. Please enjoy! Inspiration taken from Cursed Blood by Magnus9284!**

* * *

**[Unknown Location]**

Weightlessness. Falling. Fear. Izuku awoke with a gasp and sat up, only for his head to slam into something a couple of inches in front of him. He blinked and found that his eyes weren't lying to him, wherever he was, it was pitch black. He blinked more and shook his head, maybe something was wrong with his eyes. Maybe… He reached out to feel around him and found smooth material all around him.

_'Silk.'_ His mind quickly told him. Wherever he was, it was lined with silk. Izuku began to hyperventilate when he tried to push past the fabric and found an unmoving material behind. Unmoving and cold to the touch. The fear from before settled in again and he screamed, tearing at the material. He scratched and tore the fabric, pounding at the metal encasing the place he lay.

He didn't know how long he screamed and tried to claw his way out, but he no longer had a voice. His internal clock told him he had been at it for hours, but without any frame of reference he couldn't tell for sure. _'I'm going to die down here.'_ He thought to himself, continuing to push on the metal in a desperate attempt for freedom.

Then it happened. An unnatural calm came over him and he started to accept his fate. He ran his hand across the now gouged metal, feeling the deep trenches from the frantic attempts to get out. He started to think, to try to remember anything about what was happening before he woke up.

Kaachan. No, _Katsuki_. He remembered Katsuki, he remembered being on the roof at school during lunch. He remembered his once best friend yelling about something. It hadn't felt important at the time, whatever Katsuki had been yelling about. There was a blinding explosion and he remembered falling. He remembered the pure look of satisfaction and hatred on the blonde's face. He could almost feel the air rush past him as he remembered the sensation.

Katsuki had pushed him off the roof. Katsuki had cornered him on top of the school and pushed him off the roof.

Tears fell from his eyes, but a feeling of determination filled him. The grooves under his fingers were deep, maybe he could keep at it and eventually he wo… He stopped everything when he felt dirt drop from above onto his face.

Hope filled him. _'If I can get this far… maybe I can get out.'_

Somewhere in his mind he knew he had been buried. The cloth and the metal surrounding him. The dirt on top of the metal. He was in a casket. _'They must have thought I was dead after the fall.'_ His mind was made up. He was going to get out of here and he was going to… _'What am I going to do? Do I turn him in? Should I just push him off the roof like he did to me?'_

Izuku began to dig his fingers into the metal again and flinched when more dirt began to fall on his face. _'I'll figure that out after I get out of here.'_ He thought resolutely.

* * *

**[Midoriya Family Apartment]**

Mitsuki Bakugo sat silently in her best friend's apartment. A thick photo album on her lap with several more strewn around her on the floor. Inko's bright smile stared back at her. The most recent camping trip from the previous winter Inko had taken Izuku on with her own family. Her friend looked so care free, so happy. She ran her fingers over the pictures of Mitsuki and her husband cuddled up next to a fire.

The Bakugo matriarch smiled sadly. Her family had gone on the trip to celebrate her husband's promotion and had invited the two Midoriyas with them. It had been a good time, a time she had cherished. Things had looked so bright at the time. Her husband's flourishing career, her own reintroduction to her modeling career, her son was at the top of his class.

The next picture was one Mitsuki had taken herself. Izuku sat at the base of a tree highly focused on the notebook in his hands, analyzing quirks and drawing away like he always did. Inko was lounging against the same tree with a smile and her eyes closed, just basking in the moment.

A slam brought her out of her reverie and her head snapped up. "Be careful!" She yelled out. A curse and another slam followed.

"Shut up, ya old bat!" Her son yelled back.

Mitsuki scowled, her mood thoroughly ruined. She gently sat the book down on the pile and stormed herself out of the living room intent on wringing her son's neck. "Now listen here you-." She froze.

A few silent moments passed.

"Everything okay out there?" Masaru called out to his wife, fully prepared to break up another fight. "Honey?" He asked as he rounded the corner to see his wife, color draining rapidly from her face. He followed her line of sight and froze in place himself, not fully coming around the corner.

Mitsuki, always quick to anger and fight, stood stock still. Dark red eyes met green. She couldn't tear herself away from the hatred she saw. Fear. That same fear she had felt when Inko had called to tell her what had happened. Seconds passed and she couldn't even bring herself to breathe. She didn't dare blink, didn't dare take her eyes off the short figure in front of her. **Fear.**

She did the only thing she could in that moment. She screamed.

He still hadn't said anything. He didn't know how long he had stood there staring at his mother's best friend. He could feel the fear radiating off the woman and her husband, even after she had screamed. None of them had moved, even then. She had been the first one he had seen, the first one from that accursed family.

Time caught back up to him when wood wrapped around him from behind and he was ripped out the door of his apartment. Suddenly there was movement everywhere and everything became a blur, but he refused to look away from the woman in front of him, even as he was forced to the ground, a giant hand forced into his back to keep him in place. The wood restraints hadn't loosened either, not that he was trying to get away. Not yet.

"Let. Me. Go." He growled out; his voice deeper than it had any right to be.

There were four heroes now. His mind, even in it's singular focus, told him that Kamui Woods had him restrained and was holding him down. The pro hero Midnight was standing between him and Mitsuki. Masaru was trying to console his wife while explaining to the pro hero that the boy had been buried three days prior.

"We were at his funeral!" Masaru cried out in explanation. "That… That boy, _Izuku_, fell from his school and died. After we buried him and his mother, we came here to pack things up. There was no one left in their family so my wife…"

Izuku stopped listening when he saw _him_. Katsuki Bakugo. The boy rounded the corner, caught one sight of Izuku, and was promptly whisked away by Death Arms into one of the back rooms and away from the situation.

"Mount Lady! Loosen up!" Kamui Woods spoke up for the first time, pulling his quirk back to himself. "The boy's pulse is gone! Get one of the medics up here!"

"Get off of me!" Izuku cried out, control of his limbs coming back to him. Now he needed to move. Now that he had seen the object of his hatred, he had to do something. Despite the hand pressing him down, Izuku pushed himself up, his arms straining against the weight holding him.

Mount Lady let out a cry of surprise and brought her other hand over to wrap around Izuku completely. "Hold still kid!" Despite her increased strength in this form, the pro hero was having trouble keeping the boy still. She dug her feet into the ground and strained to hold him. "Kamui! Are you sure you checked right?! Sure seems like he's fine to me!"

Izuku kept pushing forward into the apartment in an attempt to follow after Katsuki. "Bring that bastard back!"

Kamui Woods jumped back into the fray and under the combined effort of Mt Lady and himself, they forced Izuku to stop. Midnight clicked her tongue in annoyance and ripped off her glove before releasing her quirk into the boy. After a few moments of continued struggle, Izuku lost consciousness and slumped in the other two hero's grip.

* * *

**[Unknown Hospital]**

When Izuku awoke again, he found himself strapped to a bed in a hospital. There were two police officers in the room with him and as soon as his eyes opened one stepped out. "Where am I?" Izuku asked the remaining officer.

The man looked uncomfortable just being in the same room as Izuku, at least that's what Izuku perceived from how he was acting. "You're at Hosu General Hospital." He finally replied.

Before Izuku could question any further the other officer entered with three doctors. The three doctors quickly rushed to his side. "I'm doctor Quinn. How are you feeling?" The now named Dr. Quinn asked while another put their fingers to his neck. The other checked the probes attached to him and checked over the machines around him.

"I'm fine. Why am I here?" Izuku glared at the doctor talking to him.

"Still no pulse." The doctor checking his pulse stated. The third chimed in affirmation after he had checked the machines.

Izuku jerked and stared in disbelief. "W-what?" His anger disappeared instantly.

"Are you in any pain?" Dr. Quinn asked, writing on the pad in his hands.

"W-what do you mean no pulse!" Izuku cried out. "I feel fine!"

"What is the last thing you remember?" Dr. Quinn leaned forward excitedly.

"I remember those heroes holding me down and knocking me out, keeping me out of my home." Izuku snapped. "Are you going to answer my question? What do you mean I don't have a pulse?"

Dr. Quinn nodded to himself. "What about before that? What do you remember before the apartment incident?"

"I woke up in a casket and had to dig myself out of a grave." Izuku was starting to freak out all over again at remembering the traumatic experience.

"Breathing is fine, lungs sound like they are in working order." The doctor to his left spoke up. "No signs of decomposition, no signs of atrophy."

Izuku jerked his arm away from the man, the strap holding his arm down going taunt. It was the first time he had noticed and it confused him, he was usually more observant than that. "Wh-why am I locked up? What's going on?"

Dr. Quinn nodded and wrote down his notes. "Quite the story there, young man. The authorities went to check out your grave. How did you manage to dig out of a metal casket, through the dirt and through a layer of concrete?"

Izuku darted his head around at everyone in the room. "I had to do something. Did you expect me to just stay down there and die?"

Dr. Quinn nodded to himself once again. "That is the general idea young man. Usually when we bury a dead body, they tend to stay dead." The doctor to his right made a small cut in Izuku's arm, causing the boy to jerk away. Everyone watched in rapt attention as the wound blackened for a few seconds before sealing itself up.

"W-what?" Izuku whispered fearfully. "What's g-going on!" He looked up at the head doctor that had been talking to him. "What do you mean dead body? I'm right here! I'm not dead!" His voice was growing panicked even more than before, his voice reaching higher as he spoke.

Dr. Quinn grinned excitedly. "That's just the thing! When we buried you, you were dead!" He opened the folder that he had brought in with him and showed Izuku a series of reports and pictures. "When we did the autopsy on your body seven days ago, you had no pulse, your back was broken in six different places, and you had no brain activity!"

Izuku stared dumbly at the pictures, pictures of him. Pictures of his chest cut open and of his body lying on a metal table. "How can that be?"

"It says here that you were born quirkless, is that true?" Dr. Quinn pushed on. Upon Izuku's shaky nod the doctor went on. "For all intents and purposes, you were dead. You are dead. You don't have a pulse, you have no brain activity during our tests, and your blood doesn't react to our tests. Young man." Dr. Quinn spread his arms. "You are the first of your kind. You are the first person to be both dead _and_ alive."

Izuku's mind was running into overdrive. It didn't make any sense to him. If he didn't have a pulse, that means no blood was running through his veins, so whatever that black stuff that had come out of his arm must have been his dead blood, or something like that. It just wasn't possible… unless… "Did someone bring me back to life? Some quirk that raises zombies?"

Dr. Quinn shook his head. "We haven't heard of any such quirk before so there isn't any way for us to know. Now, back to my questions. Do you feel any pain? Did you feel the cut on your arm?"

Izuku looked down at his hands that were still caked in dirt and black bits of what he assumed was his blood. "I… No, I don't feel any pain. I felt the cut, but…" He looked up at the doctor. "I felt it but it didn't hurt, what does that mean?" His eyes were wide with fright.

The doctor that had cut him spoke up. "Without your brain activity, we don't have much of an explanation. The best guess we have is that when you died, part of your body died with it and your pain receptors aren't firing correctly. We don't know if you will ever feel pain again. Or it could come back tomorrow, we have no way of knowing."

Izuku shuddered. "W-what happens n-now?"

Dr. Quinn shrugged his shoulders. "This is a first for us so we would like to run some more tests on you to see if we can figure out what happened. It could be that you awakened a quirk when you died and that kept you from truly experiencing death."

"I don't want to be poked and prodded, can't I just go home?" Izuku whispered quietly.

"You don't have a home to go to just yet." One of the two officers spoke up. "With no family known, you would have to be entered into an orphanage. As of right now, no orphanage is willing to take you in. It's hard finding a place for someone like you, someone that for all intents and purposes is dead."

Izuku looked down at his hands again, trying to think of his next step, think of anything he could do to get himself out of this situation. "The Bakugo's!" He cried out in realization. "They were family friends, what about them?" It was the only thing he could think of. Despite his hatred of the youngest Bakugo, it might be his only way out of this cursed hospital.

"Do you remember attacking them?" Dr. Quinn asked, picking his notebook back up.

Izuku frowned. "I never attacked them. I was mad they were in my home."

The officer that spoke previously hummed in response and gestured to the doctors in the room. "Let's let the boy collect himself. Mrs. Mitsuki Bakugo was asking about him. You can run your tests afterwards."

Dr. Quinn nodded and smiled down at Izuku. "Get some rest young man. We will send Mrs. Bakugo in if she wishes to see you still. Now, do I have your word that you won't attack anyone if I let you out of your restraints?"

"I don't think that's a good idea, we still don't know what he is capable of." One of the other doctors spoke up.

"Nonsense. We have your word, right young man?" Dr. Quinn asked again. Izuku nodded slowly. "See, there you have it. Everything will be fine."

After the doctors had released his restraints, the officers escorted them out of the room and took up positions just outside the door.

After a few minutes of waiting, Mitsuki forced her way through the door and darted over to Izuku. "Izuku! Are you okay? How are you feeling? I'm so sorry!" She quickly wrapped him up in a hug and he could feel the tears staining his shirt.

It was only at that moment did Izuku come to realize he was still in his funeral outfit. They hadn't even bothered to change him into a hospital gown. "I-I'm okay Auntie. A l-little f-freaked out if I'm honest."

Mitsuki leaned back and ran her hands across his face shakily as if to make sure he was really there. "I don't know how this happened, but everything is going to be okay. We're going to make everything okay."

Izuku highly doubted even she believed what she was saying. "They say I don't have a pulse and that I'm braindead."

"It's gotta be some kind of quirk that they've never seen before." She nodded to herself as if that explained everything. Izuku looked into her eyes and tried to find any semblance of normalcy in them. She was the last person he had left. He didn't have any friends, Katsuki had made sure of that. His mom didn't have any friends other than Mitsuki. No matter what, even if her son was responsible for his death in the first place, he didn't think he could bring it upon himself to tell her what had happened. He would have to find another way to go about it.

"What happened to Mom? I saw her grave next to mine…" He whispered.

Mitsuki's tears fell all the harder and she sobbed. "The day she went to claim your… claim your body, she got hit by a car when crossing the road. Some criminal was running from a hero and she didn't look up in time to get out of the way. I was on the phone with her when it happened… I'm so sorry Izuku, I'm so sorry." Izuku could only stare at the top of the woman's head as a weight settled in his stomach. His mom was dead, he had hoped that the grave had been wrong, that his fear had made him read the headstone wrong, but that wasn't the case. He was truly alone.

* * *

**[Streets of Hosu]**

Katsuki avoided him like the plague and Izuku couldn't be happier. Katsuki refused to even be in the same room as the… he didn't even know what to call himself. He wasn't dead, but he wasn't alive either. Maybe undead? _'That could work for now.'_ He thought to himself.

He didn't have to wait long though. Three months. It took three months for things to get back to some sense of normalcy. He was back at school and now, even more than before, everyone avoided him in class. That made him happy though. It made it easier to do whatever he wanted to. Teachers didn't question him whenever he didn't listen, other kids pretended he didn't exist, and it left him time to figure out where he would go from there.

It helped him get ahold of his emotions. He was quick to anger now, snapping at people for the smallest of things. But that was to be expected. A traumatic experience like that does things to people, does things to their minds. He wondered if he would ever be fully in control again.

"You need to leave."

_'Ah, so it's finally come.'_ Izuku thought dryly to himself. "Why would I do that? Afraid your victim will say something?" He turned with a dry look towards the explosive quirk user as they left school.

"You're just as useless as before and all you do is make the old bat sad." Bakugo bit out angrily. His fists clenched at his sides. "She's too worried about what would happen to you that she barely has time to take care of herself."

"Ah, so now I'm a burden _and_ worthless." Izuku drawled tilting his head to the side inquisitively. "How would she feel if she knew her son was a murderer?" He reached into one of his pockets and shuffled his feet.

"I don't care if I pushed you off of the roof. You would be better off dead. The rest of us would be happier if you had never come back." Bakugo stepped forward angrily, his hand popping with smoke.

"Don't look now, your temper is showing. Besides…" Izuku pulled a small black stick out of his pocket and held it up. "I'd watch what you say to me and how you act. You'd hate for your mom, or even the police… to get ahold of… this."

"W-what?"

Izuku smiled darkly and tossed the object over.

"What's this supposed to be? A USB stick?" Bakugo fumbled with the item. "What is this?"

"Don't be dumb. It's you killing me. Funny how easy it is to find a video of what happened." Izuku stuffed his hands back in his pockets.

"W-what?" Bakugo whispered in horror. "But there are no cameras on the roof of the school, there are no cameras that look up there… Don't fuck with me Dek-"

"Come now Kaachan." The green haired teen chuckled darkly. "There are cameras on every corner and in every store around."

"So… what, you're going to give this to my mom and expect her to turn me in or something?" Bakugo's voice was no louder than a whisper now, realizing his situation. He continued to glare, refusing to back down to this _freak_.

"I'm not that cruel, Auntie Mitsuki has been through enough. No, giving it to her would hurt her more than it would hurt you. No Kaachan. If that ever got out, you wouldn't be able to become a hero. You wouldn't be able to redeem yourself." Izuku took a few steps closer to the other boy. "No, you're going to make up for what you did. You're going to pay for getting my mother killed. I don't care about what you did to me, not anymore. At first, the only thing I could think about was turning you in and watching your dreams crumble just like you tried to do to me; what you've been doing to me for the past ten years of my _quirkless_ life."

Bakugo clenched his teeth. "What do you want? A fucking apology? Is that what you want?"

Izuku smiled brightly, his sadistic demeanor changing instantly. "Now that's a good sport. No I want something even more. You're going to become a hero."

"W-what?"

"You're going to become a hero and make a lot of money. You're going to graduate at the top of your class like you were planning, go to U.A. and make something of yourself. But you're never going to speak to me again, not unless I speak to you first. Never will you call me Deku again, I'm Midoriya to you from now on." Izuku spread his arms out to the side. "Live with the knowledge that I could destroy your whole family with this. You think Auntie Mitsuki is sad now? How would she feel if she found out her child, her very own child, was responsible for her best friend's death? That he was a **_cold-blooded killer_**."

Bakugo refused to step back and away from Midoriya. How dare this weak boy, this worthless child, threaten his mother like this. "Why are you doing this? Hurt me all you want, but leave the old bat out of this. Or are you too weak to do something yourself?"

Izuku's smile turned manic. "You're trying to get through to my bleeding heart? The same one that because of you might never beat again? All I feel now is anger. All I want to do is hurt you, all I want to do is make you feel the same helplessness that I did. But I won't. I won't stoop to your level Kaachan. Auntie Mitsuki doesn't deserve that, but you do. Maybe she'd forgive you in time, maybe she'd try to cover it up, maybe she'd help you kill me again. But, do you think she would ever trust you?"

Bakugo stood trembling, not in fear, but in anger. He felt powerless for the first time. He'd seen Izuku heal nearly instantly from cuts and bruises already. He'd watched the boy in front of him come back from the dead.

Izuku backed away from the teen, his mask of indifference slipping back into place. "Now, I'm going to be by your side the whole way, reminding you that no matter how good you are… No matter how good you are, you're still just a murderer."

"What would Auntie Inko say if she heard you like this?" Bakugo whispered. "What do you think she would do if she heard you blackmailing someone?"

Izuku stumbled back and fell to his hands and knees. Anger flashed through him. "You'd try to use my dead mother against me? The same one that you were responsible for the death of?" He raised his hand up and grabbed ahold of one of the lampposts near him. "I don't know what she would say, and I never will. I'd trade my life for hers any day, give her just one more day to be happy again."

Bakugo smirked seeing he was turning this around on the green haired teen. "I bet she would be really proud of the hero you're becoming."

Izuku stood on shaky legs and with a quiet grunt of effort, ripped the metal pole he had been holding onto out of the ground. He clenched tightly, the metal groaning and creaking as it crumpled in his hand. "Bring her up again and I'll do more than tell everyone what happened Bakugo." He whispered. His eyes flashed with rage and he threw the pole at Bakugo.

Bakugo grunted as his back hit the ground, the pole weighing down on him. His eyes opened in panic and he struggled against the weight, trying to push it off of him, but it weighted too much and was forcing the air out of his lungs.

Izuku stalked forward and stared down at his once friend.

"H-help me!" Bakugo wheezed out.

"Beg me." Izuku whispered, putting more weight on the pole holding the boy down. "Beg me to help you. Beg the _weak _and _useless_ Deku to save you."

Bakugo struggled against the weight, his hands popping with small explosions. Izuku could see that he was panicking and, in that panic, was having trouble activating his quirk effectively. "P-please…"

Izuku kicked the pole off the boy and stared down at him in cold indifference once again. "No more warnings Bakugo. I'm done playing your games, done being your punching bag, done being worthless. Pick yourself up and **_do something with the life I'm giving you._**" With that, Izuku turned and left Bakugo to pick himself up.

* * *

**[Back alley/Hosu City]**

Two years passed relatively uneventfully. Bakugo stopped trying to torment Izuku and kept to his word, never speaking to his once friend unless Izuku brought it up first. That isn't saying he was ever nice to the boy, just that he didn't openly antagonize or attack him. That was enough for Izuku, for now at least.

During that time, Mitsuki and Masaru had decided to have another child and she decided to give up her modeling career once again to raise her daughter full time. Izuku came to adore the now three-month-old Ami, feeling not like an older brother but maybe an uncle to the infant. The Bakugo family seemed happy once more. Mitsuki hadn't tried to fill the role of Izuku's mother, but had certainly earned a strong part of his heart for everything she had done for him.

Izuku himself couldn't be happier. School was incredibly easy, he absorbed knowledge from all angles. He was tied for first in their grade with Katsuki. His memory was almost eidetic now. The other kids in their grade had eventually gotten over their fear of his death and awakening, but had taken time to reevaluate how they treated him. They were cordial and nice, but none could say they were friends with Izuku. He preferred his time being a loner, away from the other kids where he could train and grow.

Outside of school, he spent most of his time learning about the limits of his… abilities. He refused to call it a quirk. You had to be alive to have a quirk. The doctors were unable to find a way to test his blood for any sign of what he was. He was an abnormality. He had even stopped growing upon the time of his death.

He barely stood at five foot one (155cm) and weighed nearly two hundred and forty pounds (109kg). He had toned from his time before death, but his muscles never grew. No, instead he found he became denser as time went and he got stronger. He could lift several times his body weight now and others would have found it comical to see someone his size lift nearly a thousand pounds if the sight hadn't been so terrifying.

He had even worked with local Heroes, the same ones that had restrained him on the day he had awoken, to see what he was capable of. He wasn't a freak with them. He was unique and different, but never a freak. The upper limits of his healing were astronomical. Cuts would heal in seconds, bruises even faster. Broken bones healed within hours and muscle tears were almost nonexistent. They still happened, but healed faster than he could tear them. He figured that was how he had become so strong so fast. But healing reduced his stamina. He would even grow weary if he took too much damage, but he could seemingly always get back up.

Sleep wasn't a necessity either. It sped up his recovery and recharged him, but he found he didn't NEED to sleep unless he wanted to. Food however, was required. He found that out the hard way when he had passed out suddenly. If he didn't eat, his stamina dropped quickly and once he was out of stamina, he would fall unconscious.

He still needed to breath though, that was one constant from when he had been alive. It annoyed him slightly, but at least he didn't require as much air as before. With training he could hold his breath for nearly five minutes; not a lot compared to athletic adults, but more than most his age.

Pain. That was one thing that worried him. He still felt everything, but it rarely actually hurt. It only started to hurt just before he ran out of stamina, then he felt everything.

The one thing that he didn't like about his abilities was how cold he was. At least to everyone that touched him. His skin was nearly ice cold, only heating up marginally at the spot that was healing. Then it would be like touching fire. But not to him, he still felt hot and cold, but unless it was to either extreme, he barely even registered it.

He even had a notebook devoted to his own abilities apart from the usual quirk research he did. He was usually found in one of the two notebooks, writing down ideas or possible uses for other quirks. Today was no different. He was currently writing down a plan to take his abilities even further during the next three months until the U.A. entrance exam.

He was broken out of his thoughts by the sound of a manhole bursting beside him. "A small camouflage meat bag, perfect." A deep voice chuckled accompanying a green gelatinous goo sliding out of the manhole.

Izuku quickly brought out his phone and sent a quick distress beacon to the local police department. This hadn't been the first time he had been targeted by a villain. He tended to be alone most of the time and wander down alleys from time to time. That, coupled with the fact that he looked like a small preteen and he was a prime target. After a few attacks the Hero Kamui Woods insisted on giving him access to their distress signals. Being on a first name basis with Pro Heroes had its benefits.

Briefly Izuku thought about turning and running, but dismissed the idea immediately. If he ran it could lead to someone else and that person might not have as good of a chance to survive as he did.

He darted his eyes around for something to help himself with while the slime finished pulling itself out of the hole in the ground. He nodded to himself, he'd just have to wait it out and endure it until help arrived.

The being raised itself high into the air to it's full height and chuckled down at the teen. "Good, you're not even going to try to run. That'll make this easy!" Tentacles shot out and wrapped around Izuku. "Just hold still for a little while longer and I promise it will only hurt for a minute!"

Izuku stood still and let the slime manhandle him, but locked his jaw closed when it tried to force his mouth open. Instead he glared back defiantly.

"Oh don't be that way, boy! The longer you fight, the more it'll hurt!" The villain roared. When Izuku refused to open his mouth, a tentacle wrapped around his arm. "Don't say I didn't warn ya!"

Izuku tried not to roll his eyes, he really tried. With a sickening crack he felt his wrist and forearm snap in multiple places. _'That sounded like it should have hurt.'_ He thought dryly as his arm tingled painlessly.

The slime looked down at him perplexed. "Damn…" It grumbled. "That's some serious pain tolerance you have there! Let's see how you feel about the bigger bones!" With a twist, Izuku watched as it spun his right arm spiraled, shattering every bone up to his shoulder into what had to be hundreds of pieces.

When he still refused to react, the villain shuddered. "That just isn't natural… just what are you?"

Izuku's internal clock was telling him that he was going to have to breath soon, but with the slime covering his mouth and nose, he knew he was running out of time. He only hoped that one of the Heroes showed up soon or he feared he would learn what it was like to be controlled from the inside but have no control. He didn't truly believe he would die, but he didn't want to test that theory just yet.

_'Maybe in a more controlled environment…'_ He thought to himself, trying to distract his own mind from its impending demise. _'Oh! What about limbs? If I lost a limb, would it grow back or would it just heal over? Maybe if I held the body part where it should be, would it repair itself?'_

**"Have no fear!"**

Izuku could have sighed in relief had he the chance.

**"I'm sorry citizen. You got caught up in my chase of this villain. Worry not, for I will save you!" **All-Might climbed out of the manhole, standing nearly eight feet tall. **"Texas… SMASH"** All Might reared his arm back, and with a burst of speed and power, burst the slime into thousands of tiny droplets.

Izuku gasped for breath as soon as he was able to, bending over at the waist while he retched internally. "Man, that guy smelled so bad!" He groaned, blowing slime out of his nose. Not a moment later, after swearing under his breath at trying to use his now broken arm, did he remember his distress call. Quickly picking the phone up he stared down at a broken phone, the slime villain having filled the internal wiring and frying the electronics. He deadpanned down at it then shoved it in his pocket.

**"Ah! Are you alright young man?" **All Might asked as he bent over to retrieve the main portions of the villain. **"I am terribly sorry that you got caught up in this endeavor."**

Izuku looked up and nodded rapidly, but had his notebook out in the blink of an eye. "I'm alright, but I have to ask… Can I have your autograph! I'm such a huge fan!"

All Might chuckled heartily and, in a flash, he had signed the notebook. **"Oh my! Your arm!"** The Pro Hero exclaimed. **"Please! Let us get you to a hospital! You must be in great pain!"**

Izuku looked down adoringly at the signature in his hand. "Thank you so much All Might! I'll treasure this forever!" The excited teen held it up with his free hand in a moment of triumph. "I can't tell you what this means to me!"

**"Y-young man?"** All Might looked down questioningly at the green haired teen. **"Y-your arm?"**

Izuku waved him off with his good arm. "Happens all the time, I'll be healed in no time. Nothing to worry about. But, speaking of which. Do you have a phone on you?"

**"I'm sorry, but I am unable to give out my contact information to fans. Can't show favoritism you see!"** All Might stood to his full height once again and stuck a pose.

Izuku sweat dropped and pulled his own phone out of his pocket for reference, the slime still dripping off of it. "No, no no no. I don't want your number, I need you to get in touch with the police department!" All Might looked down in confusion. "I sent a distress-"

"Midoriya/Izuku/Dead Boy!"

Izuku looked up as a giant foot slammed into the ground next to him. In the next moment two men landed next to him and the foot shrunk rapidly to reveal Kamui Woods, Death Arms, and Mount Lady.

"We got your distress message!"

"Are you alright?!"

"What happened!?"

Izuku sighed happily and waved at the trio. "Everything's okay, guys. All Might showed up just before you did and took care of it." He held up his phone to show them it's destroyed state. "Couldn't send a message to cancel the signal."

The two men stepped up to All Might and saluted smartly while Mount Lady started to fret over Izuku's broken arm and kept turning him every which way to make sure he wasn't hurt any further. "Thank you for saving our wayward apprentice!"

All Might chuckled. **"But of course! I only wish I could have gotten here sooner to prevent young…"**

"Izuku Midoriya, sir."

**"Yes! Young Midoriya! He has taken a rather horrific injury because I wasn't fast enough. I am merely happy I was here to prevent further harm!"** All Might struck a pose once again before giving a charming smile and wave. **"I'll leave him in your care now that you're here! Farewell!"** With that the man leapt off into the air with the villain in two bottles.

Death Arms' shoulders drooped now that the situation was taken care of. "You really need to take more care of yourself, Dead Boy." He said in a deep, gruff voice. "But I am glad someone made it in time."

Izuku chuckled weakly under the attention he was getting from the three Pro Heroes and looked down at the ground. "I was distracted by my research and he got the drop on me before I could get away." The green haired teen mumbled.

"But your arm!" Kamui Woods stepped up and poked at the red and swollen flesh. "It seems to be healing already, so at least there is that."

Izuku finally looked over at his arm and took stock of what had happened. The arm itself was still twisted horrifyingly so he gripped the wrist with his free hand and straightened it out, cringing at the feeling of bones moving between his muscles. "At least it didn't get torn off." He grumbled. He frowned at the arm realizing the quick twist had shredded his jacket and shirt. "Gonna have to get a new uniform though…"

Mount Lady continued to fret over the teen, touching gently over his arm before checking the rest of him for any other damage. When she couldn't find anything else she settled for hugging him tightly. "Ugh!" She quickly let go and backed up a couple of steps. "You smell like sewage!" She looked down at herself and cringed at the sticky substance on her uniform.

Izuku chuckled and nodded his head back the way they had come. "Let's get out of here, I need to get home so my arm can properly heal up."

The four continued to chat about the incident and made their way back to the main road when an explosion rippled through the air. As one they turned and saw fire launch into the air. Izuku narrowed his eyes, he had seen that type of explosion in the past and quickly darted in that direction.

The three heroes were quick on his trail, easily overtaking him and disappearing down the street faster than he could keep up with. _'Damnit Bakugo, what the hell is going on…'_

By the time Izuku caught up to the situation there was a crowd blocking the way. He pushed his way through with his good arm and stood next to Kamui Woods. "Why isn't anyone doing anything?" He asked as he assessed what was going on.

His eyes widened at the sight of the same slime that had attacked him wreaking chaos. _'But All Might had it with him! What happened? Did he get away or did something happen to All Might?'_

"You shouldn't be here Midoriya, let us do our job and stay back." Kamui Woods stood at the ready, looking for an opening to run in. "The villain has someone in it's clutches. If we move too fast the boy may be hurt!"

Izuku glared over at the man. "Then grab him with your wood and have Mount Lady smash the slime! It's viscous, you won't kill it by crushing it!"

"I can't get close or the villain will attack the boy and if I throw my spears it may move the boy in the way and then we'll hurt him directly!" Kamui retorted angrily. He sighed quickly after. "I'm not angry with you Izuku, but this is serious. The boy isn't like you, if he gets hurt, he could die from something you'll shrug off!"

Izuku looked back over at the villain and grew even angrier. "That's Bakugo!"

"Katsuki?"

"Wait! Where's Ami? She was supposed to be with him! He was taking her to the store while Auntie got some rest!" Izuku cried out, his eyes scanning the ground around the villain and his old friend. "There!" He pointed over at a baby carrier dangling off a door with a child in it. "She's not moving! We gotta do something!"

"Shit… this is bad!" Death Arms flexed his muscles and tried to look for an opening.

"Do something, damnit!" Izuku cried out fearfully.

"I'm thinking!" Mount Lady cried out above them.

Inspiration awoke within Izuku. "Kamui." His quiet whisper focused hero's vision over towards him from the corner of his eyes. "Grab Ami, I'll get Bakugo out of there. As soon as Bakugo is out, have Mount Lady stomp that thing into the ground!"

"I don't think th-"

Izuku wasn't listening, his feet were moving before he even realized he was moving. He had to do something, if not for Bakugo, then it had to be for Ami. Bakugo's explosions would hurt her sooner or later and the fires his explosions were starting would quickly smoke up the area.

"Dead Boy, no!" Death Arms leapt after him, not two steps behind the teen.

"God damnit kid!" Kamui speared his wooden arms to the dangling infant and quickly brought it back to him as safely as possible.

Izuku threw everything he had into his legs and forced himself to move faster. Before he could blink, he was in front of the slime villain, not even realizing he had moved as fast as he did. "You again! I don't need you now, I have a better suit!"

"Let go of Kaachan!" Izuku reached into the slime with his remaining good arm and grabbed Bakugo's arm.

"Midoriya! I don't need-" With more force than he thought he had in him, Izuku pivoted and forcefully ripped the teen out of the slime's grip and threw him back. He must have underestimated his strength because as soon as he let go of Bakugo, the boy rocketed through the air into Death Arms, sending the two flying back into the crowd nearly fifty feet away.

Izuku took a step away but didn't have a chance to run further before he was picked up entirely by the slime. Before his head was pulled into the slime he cried out. "Do it now, Mount Lady!"

"But Izuku! I'll hit-"

"Yu! I'll be alright, just do it!" he cried out just before the slime slipped into his mouth.

Izuku watched in what seemed like slow motion as Mount Lady rocketed into the air. Now standing over eighty feet tall she let out a cry and slammed her foot down directly on the villain. He could see the pained expression she held. He could hear the fearful screams from the crowd. He could see the horror in Kamui Woods' eyes behind his mask. In a last-ditch effort Izuku curled himself into a ball to minimize the damage.

He felt the attack for only a brief moment before everything went black.

Kamui Woods immediately handed the infant off to the paramedics that had shown up and sprinted his way forward, moving as if everything was in slow motion. He could feel, more than he saw, Death Arms falling in beside him while Mount Lady shrunk so fast she was falling out of the air directly over the crater that the villain and their friend lay in.

Behind the crowd stood a gaunt man looking on in horror at the desperate act of bravery shown by the young man. _'He threw everything away for that boy.'_ He thought to himself. "I'm pathetic…" He whispered to himself. _'How can I be a symbol of hope when I'm not willing to give my everything.'_

All Might wanted to bulk up and provide support, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. He would only serve to take away some of the glory from those that deserved it. Reporters would hound him for interviews and people would fawn over his sudden appearance. The three heroes didn't deserve that. Izuku didn't deserve that. _'A mere boy like him throwing his life away just to help another…'_ He clenched a weak fist as he watched. _'I _could_ have done something; I should have done something!'_

So, he did the only thing he could in that moment. He watched and prayed.

Silence fell over the crowd now that the action had come to an end, people moving out of the way for medics to get to the injured individuals. Even Backdraft showed up moments later to start putting out the fires that Bakugo's quirk had started.

Bakugo cradled his now crying sister with his good arm. Someone to his left gently wrapped his forearm to cover the black handprint from where Izuku had grabbed him. The boy was mumbling quietly under his breath, his eyes locked on the crater off in the distance.

In the crater itself, it had only taken moments to secure the villain. The three knelt next to the body, unsure of what to do. Did they dare move him to check him over? How would they even know if he was alright?

Death Arms shoved the contained and unconscious villain to Mount Lady. "You need to take this thing to the police."

"I can't just leave! I hurt him!" She cried out. Her vision was growing blurry from the tears.

"You can't be here right now. We need to keep a level head and do what we can." Kamui Woods stated robotically. "We trained for stuff like this, we just have to do what we can and pray things work out in the end."

The two males locked eyes and nodded. "We'll take care of him Yu. Please, just go for now. We'll keep you updated on what happens." Death Arms whispered.

Mount Lady trembled for a few heartbeats but forced the fear and sadness down. They were right, they had to show everyone else that everything was okay. She whipped the tears from her eyes and hugged the contained villain to her chest to head over to the crowd. "Any medics available please go help Kamui and Death Arms. Everyone else needs to leave while we take care of the situation!"

When no one moved she started to grow. "You all need to leave! Everything is alright here now. Everyone is safe, so please… Let us do what we do best." Using her larger body, the woman began to usher everyone back, eventually having to resort to gently pushing some that looked like they were going to refuse.

* * *

**[Hosu General Hospital]**

Later, once the area had been deemed safe and everyone had been evacuated, Toshinori Yagi stood outside a hospital room while he watched a blonde woman sit next to the broken and battered boy on a hospital bed. He was equal parts saddened by the sight. For all everyone knew, the boy was dead. But, from what he had heard, the boy had been dead for the past two years. _'Just what keeps you going?' _Toshinori thought to himself

"Katsuki and Ami are okay." The woman chanted quietly down at the crippled boy. "You are such a stupid, stupid man." Toshinori could tell that she was fighting against her need to cry just by the sound of her voice cracking as she spoke. "No matter how stupid you are, I wouldn't expect anything less from you. It's because of you that they are okay. They are okay, but we need you to wake up Izu. I need you to wake up."

The boy didn't move, gave no sign that he heard her. She stared down at the bandaged body and let out a shaky breath. Almost every part of his body was covered with the bandages, only one of his eyes and part of a cheek was visible.

"We already lost you once, please don't let us lose you again."

…

"Ami needs her uncle. Who else is going to teach her about the more artistic side of life? Masaru is too analytical, Katsuki is too brash… I… I don't think I can take losing one of my sons." She begged.

…

"Doctor Quinn said you weren't healing like normal. Your heart is still not beating, scans of your brain are still blank." She whispered, wiping the singular tear from one of her eyes. "But they can't tell if you're really gone or not. You weren't supposed to come back the first time, so maybe you'll come back again?" She reasoned to herself despite how bleak it looked.

…

She looked over to the steady beeping of the singular machine that they knew would work on the young man, if he was still alive that is. "As long as you keep breathing with that machine, there is still a chance. Please Izu, please come back to us. Even the brat is afraid you won't wake up. I know how hard that sounds with how little you talk, but I can see it. He's been a better person since you came back. He helps out around the house more; he actually spends time with us… But these past couple of days he has been so reserved. He needs you as much as we do."

…

"I'll bring Ami by to see you when she wakes up from her nap today, maybe having her around will help."

The woman leant over and kissed on the undamaged part of his face, just under his left eye. "I know you want to see Inko, but it's not your time yet, okay? You still have so much to live for. The world still needs your light. Just a little longer okay?"

Toshinori stared continued to watch the boy, even after the woman left. There just had to be something that he could do, something that All Might could do. If there wasn't, then what good was all of the money he had? If he couldn't use it for something like this, then what good would it be for.

Resolutely, the man pulled out his phone and dialed up one of his emergency contacts. "David… No this… No... David be quiet!" Silence hung in the air at his sudden outburst. "I need you in Hosu tonight… No tomorrow might not be in time… No…" Toshinori sighed. "I'm calling in Terra's favor, yes I know what that means… Just be here tonight." He never got a reply, just the sound of the line going dead. He prayed his friend would understand. He knew how much bringing up Terra's name hurt the man. The man's wife had begged All Might to leave both her and her husband to save their daughter. That request had ultimately killed the woman as she bled to death from previous internal bleeding.

Izuku stood in a golden light and looked out at the scene in front of him. Despite the knowledge of what was happening, he knew there was nothing he could do to alter the events around him.

His body was locked in a state of unending torture. His strength and energy so low he could feel every broken bone, every bruise and cut that adorned his body. He could not control how he healed, could not talk his body into directing what little energy he had.

No, what little energy he had was keeping his soul tethered to the husk of his body. He had to give it to the doctors of the hospital, though. The one thing they did to help him was to hook his body up to the ventilator. The energy and stamina his body took from breathing was all that was keeping him tethered.

But that was all they were doing correctly. They tried injecting him with various medicines. Painkillers that did the opposite of their intended affect and caused him more pain when his body tried to fight the foreign substance. Fools, his blood didn't pump through his veins, the medicine sat in the injection site and did nothing.

They moved his bones into place. At least they had tried to do the right thing there. Instead they had to cut him open to fix the jagged bone and left him with more wounds that they had sewn up, but he could still feel the cuts.

At least they had removed the IV. That had merely swollen up the injection point to near softball before they realized their foley and removed the bloated site. It left him with another wound that refused to heal.

Worse than the shattering pain that kept his body rigid was the emotional pain. It was something he hadn't felt since he had come to terms with his own mother's death. He could feel the pain from Mitsuki when she cried over him. He had thrown himself all around in whatever white void he was stuck in to make himself move, to give her any sign that he was still there.

Even Masaru had been there expressing his wishes that Izuku get better. That had been a weird sensation. Masaru was as close to a father figure that Izuku had ever had, and would ever likely see again. Izuku felt regret that he didn't spend more time getting to know the man. If he ever woke up from this horror, Izuku resolutely told himself that he would remedy that mistake.

Ami hadn't understood what was happening, but the infant girl could feel the distress her family was in and had been upset as well.

Katsuki. He had not been surprised by the anger the boy felt. When they were alone, he told Izuku to just give up and let his family move on without him. The blonde had gone on to tell him that if he had woken up, Katsuki himself would likely turn himself in just so the two would never meet again. It was a hollow threat. Katsuki was too determined to just give up his dreams because he didn't like someone.

Strangely enough he felt inspired by Katsuki's threats. It only made him want to awaken all the more. Because he knew it would hurt the boy. Now that was something to live for, hurt the boy even more. Don't let Katsuki off that easily. He felt something within him grow and he latched onto that feeling of hatred.

Those hadn't been his only visitors either. His trio of Pro Hero friends… that stopped him in his tracks and he forgot his pain for a few moments. How long had it been since he had real friends? Katsuki had been his last true friend, back before he became quirkless. He knew the Heroes weren't his true friends, he couldn't confide in them his secrets and his true goals in life, but he felt accepted by them. He wasn't a freak of nature.

All Might had also shown up strangely. To further his own knowledge that no one knew he was still aware of what was around him, All Might revealed that he was in fact a man named Toshinori Yagi. Toshinori confessed that Izuku had revitalized his belief in the hero system.

Toshinori hadn't been alone. He had brought along someone any self-respecting hero fanatic would recognize at a mere glance. David Shield. Despite the pain, Izuku had gushed internally at seeing the inventor of so many hero gadgets and technological advances. The man had brought a flurry of excitement, hope, and unbridled pain.

The entire wing had been evacuated upon David's arrival so he could work. Only Doctor Quinn and Kamui Woods were allowed to stay as they knew the most about Izuku.

"Tell me everything you know about his condition and quirk." David intoned seriously.

"Don't call it a quirk." Kamui snapped out before blinking and blushing in embarrassment. "Sorry… Izuku gets testy when people refer to his condition as a quirk. He claims he isn't alive, so it can't be a quirk."

David waved his hand to tell him to hurry up.

"His heart no longer beats, he has no brain activity that we can see, he can feel everything like normal, but there is no pain." Doctor Quinn interjected, hoping to get this out of the way as fast as possible. "Everything heals an-"

"Until now." David was unwrapping the bandages none too gently.

"Yes, yes." Doctor Quinn waved his hand dismissively. "Healing wears him out quickly, but as long as he keeps himself rested and well fed, bones heal in hours and cuts heal in seconds to minutes depending on varying depth and length." Doctor Quinn handed over the file that detailed the tests they had completed previously.

"If he isn't healing, that begs that he doesn't have the internal energy to devote to regenerating." David slipped gloves on and was reopening one of the sewn cuts on Izuku's chest.

"Do you have to do that?" Kamui spoke up. "He doesn't feel pain normally, but he has mentioned that when he runs out of energy, or stamina as he likes to call it, the pain appears."

"Ah, so somehow he is blocking out the pain until he no longer has the energy to hold it back. Most… interesting." David smiled excitedly at his new project. Toshinori had called in on David's darkest favors he had.

It was no favor, not any longer, not in David's eyes. Toshinori had given David a gift in this boy, a new project to devote himself to figuring out. Terra had brought him his beautiful daughter Melissa, what would this boy bring him?

"That's a fair assessment, but we have no way of restoring his stamina." Doctor Quinn nodded to himself. "We've tried giving him an IV, but since his blood doesn't pump, it pools in his arm where it was inserted. We can't get food into his stomach because his stomach was ruptured and we risk infecting the boy from the inside. We have no idea what complications infection would do to his body, if it would even affect him in the first place."

David hummed. "So sleeping and absorbing nutrients from food are how he regenerates his stamina?"

"We believe so. We were only able to test so much; his guardian wouldn't allow us to experiment too much. What we were able to experiment with was without her permission when Midoriya here felt he needed to learn at least something about himself. I'd rather not incur the wrath of that woman any more than we have to. She destroyed part of the research wing and ran off several of our more promising residents when she found out we were breaking bones to test his regenerative abilities." Doctor Quinn shivered at the memory of the irate woman.

"She's not here, so we don't' have to worry about her right now." David dismissed the notion instantly. "What about shock treatment?"

"Like a battery?" Kamui flinched back at the suggestion.

"Exactly!" David looked frenzied for a moment before he could compose himself. "Electricity might refill him… Fire might work too if we can concentrate it somehow… Have you tried replacing his heart or his blood?"

"N-no…" Doctor Quinn paled rapidly. "We don't know exactly what is keeping him alive. For all we know, it could be his heart, though it doesn't beat, that is keeping him alive."

"Well he certainly doesn't seem alive right now. You said he heals, that's not happening. He doesn't bleed, a machine is keeping him breathing, not that we know it is doing anything more than pushing air into an empty husk of a body."

There was a shift in the room. Everyone felt it. It felt like the light in the room was being sucked away, if only for a nanosecond. All three locked eyes, confirming they had all felt it. David no longer tried to hide the fanatical grin. "There is our answer. The boy is still in there!"

Kamui darted towards the door, "I have to tell his family!"

"You'll do nothing of the sort!" David's biting remark brought Kamui to a stop. "They don't know if he is alive yet, let's keep it that way. We can work more freely if they don't know what we are doing."

"Surely that's just cruel, wouldn't you think doctor?"

Doctor Quinn chewed on his knuckle as he looked down at the boy. "I have to agree with Mr. Shield here, Mr. Woods. Telling the Bakugo family would keep their eyes on what we are doing. If we can work freely without having them question what we are doing, maybe we can try some radical treatments undisturbed."

"Nothing leaves this room from here on out. If either of you two leak what we are doing before we are done, I'll make your lives hell." David waved a hand absently, his attention already devoted onto logging everything he could currently see on the boy.

Kamui Woods shivered. This was one of the most powerful men in the world so he didn't doubt he could make it happen.

David gathered all of his papers and walked purposefully towards the door. "Bring the boy to the largest room you have here, I'm going to need space to experiment to find out what works."

* * *

**[One Week Later/Hosu General Hospital]**

An unearthly sound erupted from Izuku's throat before it turned into an inhuman roar.

David stopped the test immediately and was at the boy's side, watching as the skin around Izuku's neck knit itself together. He could even see the bones moving under the skin as they tried to fit back into place. The scream and movement stopped in mere moments.

"We're on the right track!" David cheered excitedly.

Two others watched in silence over what was happening in front of them. The entire process was inhuman. It was cruel. There was nothing else to it.

A small animal watched a video of the process in rapt attention. "This boy." A melodious voice that should not have been possessed by such an animal whispered. "This is exactly what the future needs!" He grinned excitedly, nearly as crazed as David's own enthusiasm. At this rate the boy would be healed by the testing cycle.

A small hand ran across the picture of the pale boy that was attached to the application in front of him. "I have to made some adjustments to the entrance test, can't have the boy growing stagnant…"

* * *

**[One Month Later/I-Island Research Facility]**

The next time Izuku came to consciousness was in the middle of a giant room filled with various pieces of equipment and objects, some close to what the public would deem to be torture devices.

"You've finally awoken!" David's face entered his view, the smile more manic than he remembered seeing in the past. "You're on I-Island where we have more privacy. We can do whatever we want here!"

"…" Izuku's mouth worked, but no words came out.

"Ah, figures you wouldn't have use of your vocal cords yet. No worries my friend, we will get you all fixed up in time. For now, can you move your head?"

Izuku slowly nodded, flinching in pain as he did. It seemed the muscles and bones in his neck still weren't completely healed. The rest of his body screamed in fire and pain but he fought to focus on the man above him.

"Good! Then you're hearing is back! Now, do you hurt?"

Another nod.

"Good good, that's a step in the right direction. Now, I'm going to warn you. Now that you are awake, this is going to hurt more than anything you've ever felt before. Are you ready?"

A set of determined eyes focused intently on the scientist and a short nod acquiesced his suspicions.

"Good, good. Now, I'm going to cut open your bindings and your sutures to let your body heal itself on it's own, nod if you understand."

Izuku nodded in understanding.

"While I work do you want me to tell you what I'm going to be doing as I do it or would you rather not know?"

A dry look adorned the boy's face despite the obvious pain in his eyes.

"Right, right. Yes or no questions, I forgot myself for a moment. First, do you want me to tell you what I'm going to do before I do it?"

A moment passed before he received a hesitant nod.

"An inquisitive mind. Good. Yes…" David went about cutting the sutures that adorned Izuku's body, mumbling to himself about what the next bout of treatment he was going to administer was. "Last question. Maybe the most important one that I have to ask."

The two met eyes, intensity sparking between the two.

"Since you've been out, have you been aware of what's been happening?" David shook his head. "I don't need that answer, I already can see it in your eyes. No. I need to know, do you know what you are now?"

Izuku's lips peeled back in a feral smile. A strong nod sent a bubble of newfound excitement through the scientist.

David grinned back. "I had hoped so." He gestured to the bodies that lay around them though he knew Izuku couldn't see them just yet. "You are going change everything my boy. No, I don't think I can call you a boy any longer, now can I? I can't wait to see what you accomplish my friend!"

One of the bodies closest to the two twitched and groaned only for David to kick it further away. The body rolled to a stop and didn't move again. "No more of that now, I can't have you awakening and ruining what we have discovered!"

"Worry not my boy! After we get you all healed up, we will get you back to that family of yours!" David sang out as he grabbed a thin rod. He gave it a small twist and green energy radiated from the tip. David's smile should have scared Izuku, but the teen could only share the excitement in having his body back to himself.

* * *

**AN: Yes, yes, I know. Izuku is super OOC with his attitude and what's happened to him. But you wouldn't be reading fanfiction if you wanted to see him be the same person he is in the manga/anime. I will be changing a few things timeline wise for the story, but you will see a lot of similar things happen, there will just be a different outcome. With those other outcomes, comes consequences and benefits all their own! I have an idea about the future of this story, but feel free to message me or comment on what you think is already planned or want to see happen! Further chapters may not be THIS long, but I'll do my best to keep them full and often!**

**Other than that, yes there will be a relationship in this in the upcoming chapters, but I haven't quite decided how/where I want said relationship to go. There may be a few red herrings before a real relationship happens, maybe not! You'll just have to read and see! The only one that you won't have to worry about is Izuku/Bakugo. Just no. Especially not for this story. Bakugo is already set in concrete about his relationship issues in my mind. I won't say one way or another whether he will or won't be in a relationship, but know that you can't sway my mind on what I've decided with him.**

**Another note I want to bring up is Izuku's seemingly rapid change in personality. Think of it this way; he lives with his murderer. Every time he see's Bakugo, he sees the person that killed him, and the same person that he deems responsible for his mother's death. His mother was the SINGLE PERSON that he had that even LIKED him. Just imagine how much pain he is in because of that person being dead. We've already seen how he fakes emotions in the source material, now he just doesn't have as good of a filter.**


	2. Exam Day

**Chapter 2:**

**AN: Sorry about the reupload. I saw that my breaks didn't take effect and it was hard to see where they were supposed to be. So I fixed that, and reworded some of the descriptions of the robots to make them a little more understandable.**

* * *

**[Bakugo Family House]**

It had been over two months since he had last seen his family. The thought excited him just as much as it filled him with fear. _'I guess they really are my new family aren't they? Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru are more accepting than I could ever hope for. Ami…sweet little Ami. Even Kaachan has his place.'_

He had been standing outside the family home for a few minutes now, nervous about seeing them. The last time he had seen them, they still hadn't known if he was dead or alive. He could admit to himself that he was nervous about how they would react to him suddenly showing up after being kept in the dark for so long.

With a deep breath he knocked on the door.

"Brat! Get the door!" That brought a smile across his lips. She didn't sound sad, that was something.

"Get it yourself ya old bat!" Barked a very familiar voice.

Izuku knocked again, just as patiently. "Brat! The door!"

"You wanna come change Ami then!? She still needs a new nappie!" Katsuki yelled back.

He could hear the older woman grumble and stomps made their way closer to the door. "What do you want!" The door was quickly unlocked and yanked open.

"Hi Auntie." Izuku said with a gentle smile. "I seemed to have lost my keys."

"Y-you're alive?" She whispered, tentatively reaching out to touch his face. His skin was just as cold as she remembered. It was soothing to feel it again. She didn't even try to hide the tears that fell across her cheeks.

"Well." He flashed her a genuine smile, gesturing to himself. "Not exactly alive, but breathing nonetheless."

With a bubble of laughter between the tears Mitsuki wrapped the teen in her arms. The two stood silently in the doorway for a few minutes as Izuku let the woman vent her emotions. His hair caught most of her tears with the woman burying her face into his hair. It was just as soft as she remembered, if a little smelly.

Izuku rubbed the taller woman's back gently. "I'm still here Auntie, I never actually left. Just couldn't tell you I was still in there the whole time."

Mitsuki chuckled weakly and kissed the top of his head. "I never expected you to be gone, I always knew you would eventually come home to us, Izu."

Tired of standing on the doorstep, Izuku effortlessly picked her up, much to her surprise and displeasure, if the squeak she let out was any indication, and pulled the door closed behind them. Once they were inside Mitsuki cuffed Izuku over the top of the head. "Put me down! Just because you didn't die doesn't mean you get to do what you want young man!" There was no fire in her voice, but he chuckled and set her down anyways. Suddenly she was frowning at him again. "Do you know how worried we were when that Shield guy took you out of the hospital? We didn't even know he had taken you until after you were gone!"

Izuku scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry? I couldn't exactly say anything at the time. By the time I came to, he told me we were on I-Island. I spent the time between then and now with him helping me get better. We didn't want to rush me back and have me collapse because my body couldn't handle the strain."

The woman leaned down and stared into his eyes, trying to see if he was lying. "How long have you been 'awake' as you called it?"

"Ummm…" Izuku scrunched his eyebrows and he looked down while he thought. "I didn't ask for a timeframe on how long from when I woke up till he put me on a flight back… but I'm thinking just under a week?" He looked back up, still frowning. "There weren't any windows for me to see the sun or any clocks in the room I was in and I ate too often to gauge anything on it, but I think somewhere around a week, eight days at the very most."

Mitsuki didn't look happy about it, but lost her glare with a sigh. "At least you're back now. How did he get you to come to?"

Izuku shuddered at remembering some of the things that he had seen. "I-I don't really want to talk about it if that's alright…" He admitted. "It wasn't fun for me though; I'll say that much. I learned a lot about my condition. Can we leave it at that, for now at least?" His voice had gotten quieter as he spoke.

Mitsuki nodded, clearly not happy at not getting all the answers she felt she deserved. "For now." She patted him on the chest before gesturing down the hall. "Now go take a shower, you stink."

"Whatever you say Auntie." Izuku leisurely made his way down the hall, peaking into Ami's room to see Katsuki tending to his sister. "So you can be kind, Kaachan."

Katsuki spun around placing himself between Izuku and his sister. "The hell?"

"Can't get rid of me that easy Kaachan. You haven't suffered enough yet." Izuku chuckled to himself, peaking back down the hall to make sure Mitsuki wasn't near them. "You really should watch what you say when you don't think anyone's around. I had to divert some very… invasive questions about what you were talking about because someone overheard you. All Might was _very_ interested in you telling me I should have stayed dead."

Katsuki picked up his sister and glowered at the shorter teen at the doorway.

Izuku grew serious suddenly. "David Shield wants to meet you. You have an appointment with him tomorrow at nine. He is sending a driver here, so you won't be going to school. I'll deal with your parents."

"D-david Shield? THE David Shield!" Katsuki looked flabbergast.

"I told you that you had to be the best. Mr. Shield has taken a very invested look at my case. I owe him pretty hard because of this, so you better make the most of it." Izuku waved happily at the infant. "You're going to be the best hero we can make you Bakugo. Don't disappoint me."

Izuku was gone before Bakugo could reply.

* * *

**[Exam Day/Streets of Hosu]**

"You didn't have to escort me here, ya know?"

A hand landed sharply on Izuku's head and squeezed down on it. "I know I don't HAVE to, but with how accident prone you've proven to be in the past… Better safe than sorry." The woman grumbled.

Izuku slapped the hand away and looked up at the woman. "I'll be going to U.A. in a few months. What are ya gonna do, follow me around to make sure I'm safe?"

"Don't tempt me Zuku."

"Yu…" Izuku sighed, stopped walking and dragged the woman off the main street and into the alley across from the entrance of his practical exams. "I've told you too many times. I don't blame you. I got hurt, yes. But!" He raised a finger up at the woman before she could reply. "I'm okay now. If we hadn't done what we did, Katsuki and Ami could have **died**."

"You're not immortal Zuku." The Pro Hero rubbed her arm nervously. "I know you're strong, stronger than your appearance leads us to believe, but I can't help but look at you as the fifteen-year-old boy that died and couldn't find his place in the world. You've grown on us you know?"

"I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am without you guys, Yu. But I have to go here, I have to learn more about what I'm capable of so I can become the hero my mom would have wanted me to be. Besides. Ami's worth me dying for." He explained. The Pro Hero noticed that he left out the other person in his claim, but decided not to bring it up.

"At least promise me you won't get hurt? At least not too bad?" She asked nervously.

"I promise that I'll always get back up no matter how hurt I get. That's as much as I can promise."

Yu Takeyama huffed in what he could only deem as a cute pout. "You're not convincing me to not shadow you while you're in class."

Izuku chuckled. "I'm sure the teachers will keep me safe enough until I can graduate. Then you, Kamui, and Death Arms can all worry your hearts out about me. Until then… have some faith in me?"

Yu huffed, but pulled the teen tightly to her, pressing his face deep into her chest so she could kiss him on the head.

Izuku pat her back gently and pulled back after a moment.

Yu glared down at him. "You could at least pretend to be embarrassed." She didn't like the fact that he was already immune to her womanly ways. He was a damned teenager! He should be a spluttering mess at having someone with her assets giving him such attention!

Izuku grinned up at her mischievously. "Benefits of not having blood pumping, still can't blush. As long as I school my expression, no one's the wiser. Besides, I don't think Nemuri would be too happy you were flirting with a younger man, hmmm? Maybe the next time I see her I should…"

Yu squeaked and darted out of the alley, waving over her shoulder. "Good luck on your exam Zuku!" With that she rounded the corner and was gone.

Izuku couldn't help but smile as he watched her disappear down the street. The woman was the closest thing he would ever have to a sister. It almost convinced him not to tell his adopted sister's lover that she was flirting with him. Almost.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice a tall woman step in his way just in front of the gates until he stepped into her. He quickly grabbed her around the waist and spun them to prevent himself from knocking her over. "I'm so sorry!" He exclaimed and let her go to quickly back away. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, I'm so sorry."

"Little boys like you shouldn't be playing where you don't belong." The tall woman glared down at him. "I feel something unnatural from you, so why don't you do everyone a favor and leave."

Izuku sighed. "I'm getting really tired of explaining this. Yes, I'm short. Yes, I look young. I stopped growing at fifteen."

The girl smirked and only seemed to infuriate Izuku more.

"I stopped growing because I died. My heart hasn't beat in over two years."

The girl flinched and stared down at him. "That's why you feel so unnatural. The Lord tried to take you but you did something to keep your soul here didn't you! Fear not, I'll… Wait I recognize you." Her demeanor changed, flipped too fast for him to keep up with.

"W-what?"

"That fight with the sludge villain in Hosu a couple of months ago, that was you wasn't it?"

"Yeah?"

"I heard you died during that fight, threw your life away for that boy and his sister."

"Can't kill what's already dead, lady." Izuku drawled. He raised a hand to stop her. "I get it you don't like me, if anything about your Lord you are talking about has to do with your beliefs. If I had any say in the matter, I wouldn't be what I am, but I'm going to make the best of it and help as many people as I can, okay?"

The girl looked uncertain. "T-that's very noble for someone like you." She stood up taller and tried to attain a regal expression. "But be sure, I'm going to keep my eye on you and I'll purify you if you do anything unwarranted."

"You're welcome to try Miss. Now, if you don't mind, we have an exam." He turned and walked off, stuffing his hands in his pockets and mumbling about self-righteous jerks.

His mumblings came to an abrupt halt and he reached out to snag a tall man by the back of his jacket after seeing him trip over an upturned brick. "Careful there, it's bad luck to fall on the day like today, ya know?"

The man turned his violet eyes over at his savior and nodded his head. "Thanks for that."

"No problem. I'm Izuku Midoryia, I hope to see you at the exam!" Izuku didn't wait for a response before folding his arms behind his head and walking off, his bad mood now gone from the distraction.

"I'm Hitoshi Shinso… thank you." The taller teen whispered after his savior, even though he was sure Izuku wouldn't hear him.

* * *

**[Observation Room]**

"All Might."

Said man turned to the rodent sitting in a large chair in the center of the wall of cameras, humming in response.

"That young man, Midoryia. He's here. I was worried he wouldn't recover in time." Nezu nodded towards the camera facing the entryway.

All Might looked to where Izuku was on the monitors, one of the cameras following him now. He hummed deeply at watching the conflict with the green haired girl, only to nod resolutely when he helped the other young man not moments after. **"I'm sure he will meet your expectations, Nezu."**

Nezu hummed his response. "I can only hope so. There is a specific challenge that we've written into the practical just for him. What do you think Aizawa?"

The black-haired man groaned and hunched his shoulders even further, reaching up to scratch the side of his face. "He looks too small to be of any use. I sure hope he isn't as boring as he looks. He must have some strong quirk if he thinks he can make it through the exam."

Nezu sipped on his tea. "Legally speaking, he doesn't have a quirk."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow lazily. "Legally speaking?"

Nezu hummed, but didn't answer. Aizawa was used to Nezu's secretive ways, but it did send a murmur through the room.

* * *

**[Auditorium] **

Izuku found his seat after checking for his assigned seat, ironically enough sitting next to the boy that hated him most in the world. He could feel the scowl on Bakugo's face when he sat down, even without looking at the teen. "I know you're not dumb, Kaachan, but don't be afraid to cheat off my test if you find yourself falling behind."

"Shut up De-Midoryia. I didn't need your help before, I don't need it now." Bakugo snapped out.

"At least tell me you learned something from Shield, you were gone nearly a week with him. Oh!" Izuku finally turned to look at his once friend. "Let me guess, you fell in love with his daughter, didn't you? That's why you were gone so long! Auntie was a little upset you didn't come back after the first day, but I talked her down, told her it was 'part of your journey'."

Bakugo blushed slightly but only glared all the more.

"I hear she is quite the looker, wouldn't know myself." Izuku smirked as he spoke.

"Like hell I'd fall for a quirkless loser like her. She may be smart, but she's still a quirkless nobody. She's just like you, too involved in her own shitty life and knows too much for her own good."

"Oh Kaachan!" Izuku threw his arms in the air. "You wound me so! If I had known you were going to be this flustered over a girl, I would have brought it up so much sooner!"

"ALL RIGHT EVERYONE! QUIET DOWN!" A tall man with spiky blond hair stepped up on the podium in front of the large testing hall. The man had long spiky blonde hair and wore what could be identified as a rocker's outfit with a metal speaker system around his neck.

_'Oh my god it's Present Mic!'_ Izuku gushed in his head, reaching for his ever-present notebook to jot down some notes about the man now that he was seeing him in person. Except he had left it at home so he wouldn't be called out for cheating with foreign material during the exam. _'I'll just have to devote everything to memory so I can write it down later!'_

"WE ARE GOING TO BE PASSING OUT THE WRITTEN PORTION OF THE EXAM IN A FEW MOMENTS." Present Mic gestured to his fellow teacher who split himself into dozens of copies that started passing out large stacks of paper.

_'It's Ectoplasm! The copy hero! Best. Day. Ever!'_ Izuku's eyes sone in excitement at seeing another hero so up close. He absorbed the speed in which the clones were made and looked for any inconsistencies in them that he could note.

"Shut the fuck up!" Bakugo whisper-shouted. "You'll have time to fanboy later, so stop distracting me."

"YOU WILL HAVE THIRTY-FIVE MINUTES TO COMPLETE AS MANY OF THE TWO HUNDRED QUESTIONS AS YOU CAN!" Present Mic went on.

Whispers broke out around the room.

"That's not nearly enough time…"

"So many questions…"

"I'm going to die here…" A red-haired boy with sharp teeth groaned as he slammed his head down on the desk in front of him.

"WORRY NOT YOUNG LISTENERS!" Present mic spread his arms wide. "THIS TEST IS ALL ABOUT TESTING YOUR GUT REACTIONS TO SCENARIOS AND TO SEE HOW YOU THING ON YOUR FEET! WE DON'T EXPECT YOU TO ANSWER EVERY QUESTION, AND NOT EVERY QUESTION HAS ONLY ONE CORRECT ANSWER!"

There were many relieved sighs around the room, but Izuku's eyes narrowed and he bit down on his knuckle while he tried to think. _'There's gotta be more to the test. Are they trying to overwhelm us so we rush too fast and make a ton of mistakes? Would it be better to take my time and answer questions correctly, or would it be better to rush through the scenarios and hope my initial reactions are for the best? Maybe a mixture of the two? Maybe I should-'_

"U-um, excuse me?"

Izuku broke out of his thoughts at a gloved hand waving a stack of papers in his face. "C-can you pass these down?"

"O-oh, ye-yeah, sorry about that." Izuku quickly took the papers and passed them on.

"You were muttering pretty hard over there, are you okay?" The girl asked.

"S-sorry about that, I'm just nervous. I tend to do that when I think too hard. I'll try not to do it during the test." Izuku scratched the back of his neck embarrassedly.

"It's okay, everyone here is pretty nervous, so I understand where you're coming from. But you must be pretty smart to be here at your age so I'm sure you'll be okay."

Izuku finally turned to take in the girl next to him. His eyes drank in the long red-haired girl with bright yellow eyes. "I'm actually eighteen…" He whispered, wondering if this was going to turn out to be the rest of his life answering these types of comments. "I had an accident when I was fifteen and stopped growing after that."

"O-oh! I'm sorry!" The girl waved her gloved hands rapidly in front of her and shook her head. "I didn't know! I could have sworn you were… like twelve or something!"

Bakugo snorted a laugh behind the green-haired teen. "Shut the fuck up Kaachan." Izuku growled out while shooting the boy a glare. He turned back to address the girl. "Nah, it's fine. I get it a lot, hazards of the world we live in, ya know?"

The girl still looked embarrassed, but Present Mic interrupted the two's conversation with another announcement. "ALL RIGHT LISTENERS, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE TESTS ARE RANDOMIZED, SO IT WILL MAKE IT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO CHEAT OFF THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU! THAT BEING SAID! TRY NOT TO CHEAT OR YOU WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED AND SENT HOME"

Present Mic let that sink in for a few moments, making eye contact with a few of the individuals in the crowd that he thought were going to be the most trouble. "YOUR TIME STARTS… NOW!"

Izuku quickly went about his test, immediately palming his face upon the first question. _'What colors are on U.A.'s entrance sign? Are you fucking kidding me?' _Izuku withheld a groan, if only barely, before answering and continuing onto the rest of the test.

The next question brought him to a halt immediately as well. _'You arrive on scene to find a villain with a known body mutation that makes turns his hand into guns. There is a two-inch-thick concrete wall behind you. If a bullet from the gun travels at a speed of 1,246.7 feet per second (380.0 m/s) and you dodge the bullet, what are the chances the bullet will penetrate the wall and potentially harm an unsuspecting civilian?'_ Izuku's eye twitched. This test was going to give him a migraine.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAND THAT'S TIME!" Present Mic called out. "PASS YOUR PAPERS TO YOUR RIGHT AND SOMEONE WILL BE BY TO PICK THEM UP. NOW, WHILE THAT IS HAPPENING, I WILL EXPLAIN THE UPCOMING PRACTICAL PORTION OF THE EXAM!"

Izuku didn't pay much attention to the group of what he assumed were assistants entering the room to pick up the papers and set up a projector in the front of the room. Bakugo next to him was physically twitching while he pretended not to care. The girl on the other side of him was lying on the table, tears of frustration pooling under her. Izuku, feeling bad for her, gently pat her on the back. The girl shivered under his could touch and he pulled his hand back, not wanting to discomfort her with the unnatural chill condition caused.

"AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, YOU WILL BE SPLIT UP INTO GROUPS AND SENT TO VARIOUS PARTS OF THE CAMPUS. WHERE THE BUSSES TAKE YOU, YOU WILL BE PITTED AGAINST FIVE VARIOUS ROBOTS OF DIFFERENT POINT VALUES." Present Mic gestured to the picture above him. "THREE OF THEM ARE WORTH ONE POINT, TWO POINTS, AND THREE POINTS RESPECTIVELY BASED ON THE NUMBER THAT IS PAINTED ON THEM. SOME OF THESE ROBOTS WILL HAVE NEGATIVE POINTS ON THEM, SO BE SURE YOU PAY ATTENTION TO WHICH ROBOTS YOU DESTROY AND WHAT POINT VALUE THEY HAVE PAINTED ON THEM! THE FOURTH ROBOT HERE…" Present Mic used a pointer to indicate another one. "IS WORTH NEGATIVE TEN POINTS SO IT'S BEST TO AVOID IT!"

"A question if I may?" A hand rose high up in the air from near the front of the room. Present Mic was taken aback for a moment before gesturing for the hand to stand up. A tall lanky teen with blue hair and square glasses stood up sharply. "You said there would be five robots, but you only explained four of them, what will the fifth robot be?"

Present Mic smiled widely once again. "GOOD SENSE OF OBSERVATION CONTESTANT 712!" Present Mic nodded appreciatively. "THE FIFTH ROBOT IS A SURPRISE!"

"Yes sir, but what are the parameters of the robot? Will they be worth more points or should we avoid them directly?" The tall teen continued.

"I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU!" Shouts of indignation rang out as expected. "LET ME EXPLAIN! WHEN YOU ENCOUNTER VILLAINS, YOU WILL NOT HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE SO YOU WILL HAVE TO MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM! IT COULD GIVE YOU HUNDREDS OF POINTS, OR IT COULD DISQUALIFY YOU IMMEDIATELY! THEY COULD BE THE SIZE OF A CAR OR THE SIZE OF A RAT, YOU'LL NEVER KNOW!"

Present Mic's smile turned sadistic. "THERE ARE MANY THINGS IN THIS JOB THAT COULD GET YOU OR THOSE YOU ARE TRYING TO PROTECT KILLED. YOU HAVE TO WEIGH YOUR OPTIONS AND DECIDE IN THE MOMENT WITH WHAT INFORMATION YOU HAVE! TAKE THE CHANCE AND DESTROY THE ROBOT, TAKING THE CHANCE THAT SOMETHING BAD COULD HAPPEN TO YOU, OR RUN FROM THE ROBOT AND LEAVE IT TO SOMEONE ELSE TO DESTROY, KNOWING THAT IT COULD MAKE OR BREAK SOMEONE ELSE'S CHANCES AT GETTING INTO THE PROGRAM OVER YOU!"

The boy shakily sat down and the murmurs died down as they thought over what had been presented to them.

"NOW, GET OUT OF HERE AND GO TO YOUR ASSIGNED PLACES TO START YOUR PRACTICAL EXAMS!" No one moved for a few moments. "THAT'S NOT THE WAY WE OPERATE HERE! HERE AT U.A. WE TAKE CHALLENGES HEAD ON AND WORK TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY! NOW, CAN I GET A HELL YEAH!"

"**Hell Yeah!" **Izuku and a few other students stood up, thrusting a fist into the air. Present Mic seemed to sparkle at the response he had gotten. Izuku noticed the girl next to him was one of the ones that had cheered with him. The two shared a smile and the girl clenched a gloved fist in front of her chest. "We got this!" Izuku cheered excitedly.

"NOW GET OUT OF HERE! YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES TO CHANGE INTO YOUR OUTFITS FOR THE EXAM!" Present Mic's call was met with another round of cheers, from many more participants this time, much to the man's growing excitement.

* * *

Once changed into a pair of dark green sweatpants, black boots, and a black tank top, Izuku stepped off the bus that lead him to Exam Center B. He recognized a few of the people there already, but froze when he saw the girl that had been sitting next to him. If he could have blushed, he knew he would risk passing out from the sheer amount of blood rushing to his head. _'What the fuck?' _He thought to himself.

"You! Young boy!" Izuku turned to see the blue haired teen standing easily a foot over him. "Someone your age doesn't belong here; did you get lost?"

Izuku sneered angrily. "Getting really fucking tired of that today."

"Language young one! This is a prestigious school and miscreants such as yourself shouldn't be-"

"Shut the fuck up already! What are you trying to do, get under my skin and distract me from the exam? Well it isn't going to work! Don't get in my way or I'll end up stealing all of your points!" Izuku pointed an angry finger at the teen in front of him.

The teen blanched and actually took a step back. "D-distract? N-no I swear… that wasn't…" The teen quickly bent at his waist at a ninety-degree angle in a bow. "I sincerely apologize if my words were construed as such! It was not my-" The teen quickly stopped and he stood up straight. "Wait! You can't change the subject young man! You could get hurt if you stay here!"

**"AAAAAAND BEGIN!"**

"H-huh?" The blue haired teen looked up at the instructor momentarily, then back down at the boy that was supposed to be in front of him, only to find the boy sprinting off through the now open doors of the city.

**"THERE ARE NO COUNTDOWNS IN HERO WORK! GET MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVING!"** Present Mic waved his arms to entice everyone that hadn't been moving to react already.

Izuku quickly forgot about the girl and the annoyingly tall teen. He wasn't the fastest one at the exam, far from it, but his head start gave him a leg over most of the others and he made quick work of it by taking an alley over to another road with less people on it.

His first robot he came across was a one pointer, indicated by the bright red number one painted on it's robot was nearly twelve feet tall and appeared to be somewhat of a cross between a human upper half and several spider-like legs that it used to get around, allowing it to dart in different directions with little tell before it actually moved.

He slid under the human-like robot's outstretched arm and grabbed one of it's three legs as he came up to his feet behind it. With a roar of effort, he picked the machine up and slammed it into the concrete, cratering the ground where it impacted. Grinding metal reached his ears as the metal compressed into itself at the force of the impact and the robot powered down. _'That wasn't bad at all, maybe this won't be so hard after all.'_ He thought to himself as he took off running to find more enemies.

As he ran, he noticed several other contestants attacking in various styles. One boy punched clean through the head of a two pointer, another boy fired a laser from a contraption on his stomach, knocking a two pointer back, and there was a girl that increased the size of her fists to dent the metal around a one pointer's chest plate. _'Holy hell, there are some seriously strong contenders here…. I need to step my game up.'_

Izuku continued to rack up points and he started to grow worried. He hadn't seen any negative point robots, nor had he seen any of the fourth or fifth kinds of robots anywhere yet. Seeing a violet haired boy, the same one he had prevented from falling earlier in the day, surrounded by a group of three pointers, as he deduced based off their bulkier appearances over the one pointer he had taken out before, he thought about stepping in to take the points, but noticed the teen was having a hard time fighting the robots. The teen's punches weren't doing any damage and he seemed to not have a good plan of action. Izuku felt pity for a brief moment before deciding to use this situation to his own benefit. Deciding to help the boy he started by jumping in and threw a metal plate into the head of one of the robots, cleaving it in two. He slid under a salvo of small rockets fired from one of the other three pointers that had taken notice of his presence before reaching the group.

"If your fists aren't working, make a weapon!" Izuku ripped the metal plate from the downed robot and threw it to the teen.

Shinso caught the plate and blinked, looking between it and the small boy that had landed next to him. With a nod he used the plate to trip one of the robots, slamming the plate down on it's back to give him room to reach between two of the metal plates holding the robot together to expose some wires. With a deft hand he grabbed a handful and ripped them out, causing the robot to shut down. When he looked up the boy was sprinting off again, leaving him with two other robots closing in on him. "Thanks… again." He whispered.

He smiled to himself briefly, the corners of his lips barely turning up. He finally had a way to effectively fight these things, even with his quirk being useless.

* * *

**[Observation Room]**

"That kid is making it harder for him to get in by helping that boy learn to fight these things." Aizawa shook his head incredulously.

**"That's just how young Midoriya is."** All Might answered with a nod. **"It isn't in his nature to harm other's chances to further himself."**

"You seem to know a lot about this boy, wouldn't that make you a little biased to be here?" Aizawa drawled.

**"I only know about him from after an incident in Hosu where he threw himself into a dangerous situation to save a fellow classmate. He has a lot of friends that are Pro Heroes in the area so I asked around about him. Apparently, he has a large sense of honor and self-sacrifice."**

"So, he's a lot like you."

"That's why I didn't allow All Might to be on the committee that decided who gets in and how many points others get. He is only here to get a better idea of who he will be training in his class in the future." Nezu commented. "But Midoriya isn't the only one out there helping others gain points." He pointed out on another screen.

There was a boy that had a body of steel holding a pair of robots while another boy dug the internals to decommission the robots. The two shared a fist bump before separating and continuing on their separate ways.

On another screen a girl used her enlarged hands as a springboard for another to leap off of into a charging group of robots where the teen used some sort of liquid to dissolve several of them at once then the two took down the rest together.

"It's a strong group of contestants this year." Nezu commented. "It's going to make cutting most of them hard."

* * *

**[Exam Center B]**

**"ONE MINUTE LEFT! MAKE IT COUNT! YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAH!"**

Izuku looked back towards the disembodied voice of Present Mic and nodded his head. _'Forty-six points. Not too bad, but I think I'll need more than that to continue on. Ten more if I can manage it.'´_ He thought to himself, looking around for anything close by.

A loud rumbling brought his head around and he could see a giant robot looming overhead off in the distance. This one differed dramatically from the others; not only was it nearly a hundred feet tall, instead of spider-like legs it had giant treads that looked like they had been taken from a pre-quirk era tank. People began to scatter and run from it, yelling for others to get out of their way, even pushing past Izuku as they ran. He stared at the giant robot with pure wonder in his eyes. _'That has to be something that Power Loader made! It's so big and it's movements are… so fluid!'_

"Ow!"

His eyes fell onto a purple-haired girl lying on the ground with bits of rubble lying on top of her, reaching for bits of what covered her, but he could tell that the angles her arms were bent meant she wouldn't get much leverage to get herself out. The loud rumbling brought his attention up again. The giant robot was nearly on top of her already, could he make it in time?

He then saw the real problem. Dozens of dog-like robots were running underneath the treads heading towards the girl.

He was sprinting before he even knew he was moving. He was only a few steps away when the redhead he had met earlier slid in next to the girl and started to remove the rubble from the girl's upper arms.

Izuku slid to a stop and grabbed the largest piece that was holding her legs down. "I'm gonna lift this, if you feel anything pinch let me know so I can stop!"

The girl nodded and, now that her arms were free, was reaching to help. "I can't feel my right leg, I think I broke something when the wall fell on me."

Izuku grunted in effort and strained against the weight. He could see rebar embedded into the concrete slab. _'Must have a ton of metal in it, otherwise I should be able to lift this with no trouble… Either that or I'm more tired that I thought I was…' _He thought to himself.

* * *

**[Observation Room]**

All Might looked expectantly as the video he was watching spread across the entirety of the screens in front of the group of evaluating heroes. **"There comes a time in every prospective hero's career when they must make a choice. Take the easy way out and let someone take control of a situation and hope for the best."** His voice, though barely stronger than a whisper, carried through the silent room. The video he was watching quickly spread across all of the screens in front of all the evaluating heroes.

**"Or to take charge of the situation yourself and do everything you can, even at the risk to yourself. A time in which you put the lives of everyone around you in your hands. Something that no matter how much training you have, no matter how many times you tell yourself what needs to be done, has to come from within."**

The group watched as more dogs latched onto Izuku in various parts of his body, but he seemed to ignore them over the concrete in his hands. **"A time to be… PLUS ULTRA!"**

* * *

Izuku had only gotten the slab a few inches off the girl when one of the dogs leapt forward and latched onto his leg, digging in deep. Two more jumped forward and bit onto him, one on his arm and another digging deep into his shoulder where it met his neck. He didn't bother to knock them off until the girl was dragged out by the redhead and he could use his hands again. With another grunt he flexed and threw the concrete slab a few feet away and into a couple more of the dogs.

Twisting his body, he ripped the three dogs off his body. He could feel the one at his neck tear off a chuck of meat from him. He winced, it wasn't going to heal very fast and would limit his use of the arm on that side.

Most of the dogs were trained in on him so he made a split-second decision, one that he knew was going to hurt him in the test. "I'll hold them off, you two get away, I should be able to keep them here until time runs out and they shut down!"

"But-" The redhead started to object.

Izuku pulled his tank top off and threw it to the redhead, making sure not to look entirely at her. "And you! Put a damn shirt on! Now get the fuck out of here!"

He ignored the two and darted towards the dog, his leg and arm already healing up from the deep teeth marks. He used his tried and true method of grabbing one of the robots in front of him and used it as a club to bash the others out of the way.

The sun blotted out above him and he groaned aloud. _'Forgot about the big fucker…'_ He thought to himself.

The giant robot looked even taller up close and had to be almost forty feet wide. He was briefly star struck once again at the technical expertise that it would take to get something of that size to work. _'Power Loader is one hell of a mechanic.'_ He gushed internally.

He spared a look over his shoulder to see the redhead carrying the violet-haired girl away. _'She's stronger than she looks.'_ He thought to himself, ironic considering he was leagues stronger than he looked. A shadow passed over him and was getting closer to them and he saw the robot thrusting a fist in their direction. "Ah fuck it."

He felt something pool in his stomach and before he could blink, he was behind the two girls again, clearing nearly fifty feet in a few heartbeats. He grabbed the redhead, who was now thankfully wearing his shirt, around the waist with one arm while his other scooped her feet out from under her. "Sorry about this! Please don't hate me!" He turned and threw the two into one of the shops on the street, throwing them through the glass window and out of immediate harm. They were going to be pissed at him when they got up, but that would have to come later.

He didn't fully get turned around before the giant fist crashed into him and drove him into the ground. He could only watch as the robot reared back to throw another punch. "At least it wasn't a foot this time…" He grumbled to himself.

* * *

**[Observation Room]**

Several heroes jumped out of their chairs exclaiming in fear. "Shut it down! It'll kill the boy!"

Cementoss leaned over Nezu's chair when he didn't move and slammed his hand down on the emergency shut down button, but nothing happened. He slammed the button down a couple more times for good measure, but still nothing happened.

"Funny how easily the programming can be overridden on something as advanced as these robots. I thought something like this was going to happen so I disabled the switch in his testing area." Nezu continued to sip on his tea despite the chaos around him. He looked over and made eye contact with All Might. "Let's see if this boy is worth your interest, let's see how worthy he is."

All Might paled and watched the boy lying in the crater. _'Please.'_ He begged to whatever deity that would listen to him. _'Don't let his previous accomplishments be a fluke.'_

"It'll shut down when the timer stops, if nothing else stops it before that." Nezu offered noncommittally. Ectoplasm was already gliding through the door to head towards the testing center in question as emergency backup.

* * *

**[Exam Center B]**

Time slowed down for Izuku as he took stock of his situation and his mind jumped into overdrive. He could feel the cracks in his bones, hoping nothing was really broken just yet. It would make it a pain to walk out of here. He took a calming breath and, feeling that same energy pool in his stomach, threw his hand out towards the robot and the sun seemed to darken. He could hear screams from off to his side and assumed it was the two girls from earlier.

The darkness grew as the fist rocketed at him and several dark shapes slammed into the side of it's arm. It was just enough to divert the attack to land next to him. He took the brief reprieve to jump to his feet and wobbled, just managing to keep his balance.

_'Not broken, but close.'_ He thought wryly. _'Gonna have to make this fast, I'm running out of stamina.'_

Bringing his hands up again he directed the group of dark shapes through the air once again, mentally commanding them towards the head. At the last moment he jerked his hand down and they dove into the neck slot of the giant robot. He couldn't see what was inside the robot, but he had to hope that something important inside it was easy to get to. He threw his hands to the sides and after a moment the robot shuddered and it's headlight flickered briefly.

**"AND THAT'S TIME!"** A buzzer sounded off loudly through the fake city. **"IF YOU NEED ANY ASSISTANCE OR ARE HURT, THERE ARE MEDICS ON THEIR WAY, HAVE NO FEAR!"** With that, the giant robot shut down fully, coming to a grinding halt. Even the few dogs that were left on the street shut down, falling over where they stood. It was then that Izuku noticed that there had been four dogs biting into his legs, only when they unclenched their jaws and fell lifelessly to the ground.

Izuku sighed and fell to his knees. He felt weak, but he wasn't out yet. A little food and some sleep and he would be just fine. The shadows erupted from the robot and darted to him, only a handful of them left as they landed. Izuku reached out and pulled his power back from them and felt a small surge of energy return to him.

Footsteps brought his head up and to his right to see the two he had thrown hobbling their way up to him. They were covered in cuts and bruises and he flinched slightly. _'They probably aren't too happy about me manhandling them like that.'_

"Oh my god! Are you alright?" The redhead knelt down next to him; the violet-haired girl's arm still draped over her shoulder.

"Y-yeah I'll be alright. Just tired." He shook himself and tore his eyes away from the near naked girl to look at the other. "How about you, how's the leg?"

"It'd be a lot better if I hadn't gotten thrown through a window." She snapped.

_'God damn… she's hot when she's angry…' _He thought to himself, giving the girl a quick once over. Her sudden blush told him that it might not have been in his head as much as he thought, but didn't have the energy to address it at the time. He chuckled and dropped onto his back. "Sorry about that… seemed like the best idea at the time." With a groan he closed his eyes and relaxed his body. Silence rained down around them for the time being.

"D-dude! You…" The violet teen leapt off the other and her hands immediately went to his neck. She snapped her head up to the other girl. "Go get a medic, his heart stopped! Holy fuck this kid's cold! This isn't good!"

Izuku was sluggish to respond at first but slapped away her hand in time. "I'm fine, don't worry about it... Just let me rest for a minute."

"W-what?! But! What!? Your neck is-!" The girl gestured to the gaping wound on his neck, though the lack of blood was worrying her more than the actual wound itself. _'Maybe it has to do with his quirk?'_ She reasoned to herself. She took the time to look him over, watching as his chest rose and fell slowly. _'That's a good sign at least.'_ She shuddered again at the cold feeling of the boy in front of her.

Izuku groaned and forced himself to sit up again. "My heart didn't stop." He waved off her stumbling of words that followed. "Haven't had a heartbeat in forever, so don't worry about it."

The redhead spoke up. "Where did all these birds come from? Was that you? Were you controlling them? Why are they dead? What's going on!?" She was poking one of the dead birds on the ground with a piece of rebar.

"I'll tell you about it when we get out of here if we have time, just not right now okay?" He whispered, making sure to keep his eyes off the teen. "I don't have the energy to explain, it'll take too long. Besides, why the fuck were you naked anyways?"

"N-naked!" The violet teen darted her eyes over to the other girl. "You're naked under that!"

"Y-you ca-can s-see… You can… me… you can see me?" The redhead whispered in horror, her cheeks turning neon pink and she moved to cover as much of her body as possible.

Their conversation was cut short when several footsteps brought their attention around to see a group of medics running up. "Everyone okay over here?"

Izuku waved a hand at the girls. "I'm okay. Punk rock over here broke her leg… I think. The naked wonder over there has some cuts and bruises."

"Punk rock? I've got a name! Kyoka Jiro!" The now named Jiro snapped at Izuku.

"You guys can argue later, here let's get you on a stretcher and take you to Recovery Girl. She can fix your leg real quick. As for you…" He looked over at the other girl, fighting a blush now that he knew the girl was naked. "I can't see your cuts, how bad are they?" He pushed through his embarrassment so he could do his job. _'Injuries first, naked girls later.'_ The medic told himself.

"I'll be okay, just some small cuts. I'll bandage myself up after I get changed. It's all superficial anyways." The redhead mumbled.

"If you say so, we'll leave it to you then." The man nodded and turned back to help Jiro onto the stretcher.

_'Can't see them? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?' _Izuku furrowed his brows in confusion and anger. "Whatever, I'm outta here." He stood up and stretched. Several pops rang out as his joints popped back into place. After a momentarily wobble, he looked back over to where all the birds lay dead. "Gonna take me forever to find enough again… fuck." He looked over at the two girls, both wounded but very much alive. "Worth it in the end though…"

After asking for a pen and a notepad from one of the paramedics, Izuku wrote his number down and handed it to the two girls. "Hit me up once your feeling better and I'll explain what I did if ya are still interested. If not, get better and I'll be sure to see you both when we get to class." With that he handed the pen and pad back to the man that had supplied it and walked off.

As he walked away, he briefly looked back at the redhead over his shoulder, then quickly averted his eyes so he wasn't looing at her completely. "Keep the shirt, just… try not to run around naked anymore okay? Most guys were probably staring the whole time we were waiting for the exam to start."

The redhead could only blush and nod her head. "O-oh okay." She looked down at the handwritten phone number in her hand and only realized after he was gone that she hadn't gotten his name nor given him her name.

* * *

**[Observation Room]**

"What the fuck just happened." A white-haired hero whispered. "Did that boy just command birds to attack the robot before killing them?"

"I thought you said he was quirkless, Principal Nezu." A short man with orange hair and a large excavator scoop being used as a helmet commented.

"Legally, he is." Nezu affirmed with a nod.

"What is that supposed to mean? Aizawa snapped. "What would it matter if he was legally or illegally able to control animals?"

Nezu handed his file on Izuku Midoriya over to the hero. Aizawa glowered at the rat before delving into the information. "Deceased? What the fuck are you on about here Nezu?"

"Deceased? But the boy is clearly alive and right there!" The white-haired hero pointed at the retreating figure of the boy.

**"Keep reading."** All Might supplied cryptically. Several pros looked over at him in confusion, All Might wasn't known for his secrecy or trickery.

The underground hero flipped through a few pages, his eyes widening as he kept reading. After a few minutes of reading and flipping through pages a sadistic smile crossed his lips. "Dibs." He whispered.

The room fell into pandemonium and several others scrambled to grab the file from the man. Aizawa fended the crowd off with his legs and held the file away from them. "Nope, he's mine! You can't have him!" The normally reserved man yelled out while Nezu only continued to keep his eyes on the screen, even once Izuku had disappeared from the picture.

_'One way or another, you're going to make waves, Izuku Midoriya. I'll have to keep my eye on you until we can decide which path you are going to take.' _Nezu thought to himself.

* * *

**[Bakugo Family Home]**

Izuku was running on fumes when he stumbled through the door, his shirt still missing and just wearing his sweat pants and boots. He hadn't felt like he had the energy to grab his other clothes from the changing rooms. He'd get them another day, maybe. No, he'd have to. His red high tops were there, he needed those.

Masaru was under his arm and pulling him into the kitchen after a few moments, depositing Izuku into a chair at the table. "Sit tight and I'll grab you something quick. We can talk after you eat something." The man darted into the other room and came back with some cold leftovers that Izuku dug into quickly.

While he was eating, Masaru dialed up his wife's number. "Hey, Izuku's home… No Katsuki isn't with him… He's a bit beat up and missing a chunk of skin at his shoulder, but I think he'll be okay… No, doesn't look like he's in pain… Yeah, I gave him some food and I'll get him in bed right after. Gotta go, honey. I'll let you know if anything else happens. Have fun with Ami… bye."

When he returned Izuku was digging through the fridge for more food and he couldn't repress the chuckle that bubbled up his chest.

After another two plates of food Izuku fell asleep on the table, snoring softly. Masaru picked up the teen with a huff, well he tried to pick Izuku up. He ended up resorting to holding the boy's upper body and dragging Izuku's feet along the ground. "Christ kid, how can you weigh this much and still be so small…"

He deposited the too-heavy-teen into his bed and covered him with a sigh. He took Izuku's phone from his pocket and plugged it in for him then departed the room, not bothering to be quiet as he left, Izuku would be out for a few hours and was already in a deep sleep. He wouldn't hear anything until he awoke, no matter how loud the house got.

"Might as well make some hot food for Katsuki when he gets back, kid's probably gonna be hungry too." Masaru quickly sent his son a text to see when he'd be home and if there was anything he wanted to eat. A reply quickly popped up and the man smiled at his phone.

For as much as his two sons seemed to hate one another, they were too alike for their own good.

* * *

**AN: Thank you all for the support thus far on this story! I saw a few things in the comments about inconsistencies in my story and I'll work double time to make sure they are addressed and fixed. Also, things that might seem like a passing comment in the story might have potential backlash later. Last of all, the comment about Izuku's death not being investigated, you'll come to understand everything in the next couple of chapters. Almost everything has a reason as to why I stated it the way I did.**


	3. UA Results

**Chapter 3: U.A. Results**

**AN: Special thanks to Natsu Is Awesome for helping me out with this chapter. He's been an extremely valuable asset for me to bounce ideas off of. Check him out, he has a ton of stories out there and is an excellent writer!**

* * *

**[Bakugo Family Home]**

Izuku decided to take the next day off from school. He felt he deserved the time to take it easy after the exam. Currently he was just lying on his bed drawing in his hero notebook about all of the people he had met until he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Upon checking it he saw it was from an unknown number.

**Unknown: **This may be out of the blue, but were you at the U.A. entrance exam on Sunday?

**Midoriya:** Yup, group B.

**Unknown: **Do you have green hair and are super short? Helped a girl trapped under a wall?

**Midoriya:** …yeah, that's me.

**Unknown:** I uh, never got your name, but I'm Kyoka Jiro. Ya know, purple hair, broken leg?

**Midoriya: **Yup, I remember you. I'm Izuku Midoriya. How's the leg?

**Jiro:** Bit sore, but no more pain. Did you mean what you said? About telling me about what happened?

**Midoriya:** I don't see why not, but it's not something I can do over text really. Ya know?

**Jiro:** Yeah, I can understand that.

**Jiro:** You free some time to talk about it then?

**Jiro:** Shit got kinda crazy and I feel like I need to quell what's been rolling through my mind.

Izuku checked the time. It was already after seven and was just starting to get dark outside.

**Midoriya: **Got school tomorrow, but other than that, no.

**Midoriya:** When are you free, I'm just taking it easy this week so I'm open whenever.

**Jiro:** It's a bit late, but are you available now?

**Jiro: **I live in Hosu.

**Jiro:** As long as it's someplace public anyways.

Izuku blinked down at the phone and thought about it for a moment. He didn't have anything going on, and it wasn't like Auntie Mitsuki had given him a curfew or anything.

**Midoriya: **Yeah I'm good. I'm in Hosu too.

**Jiro:** Diner near fifth? The one that used to be that terrible sushi place?

**Midoriya:** Works for me, I can be there in about 30.

**Jiro: **Same. Oh!

**Jiro:** I'll bring Hagakure too.

**Midoriya:** What's Hagakure? Is that a person?

**Midoriya:** You bringing your boyfriend? WTF I'm not that creepy.

**Jiro:** No!

**Jiro: **It's that other girl, the one you gave your shirt too that carried me before you threw us into that window.

**Midoriya:** Ah okay, the naked girl. Tell her to wear clothes this time.

**Jiro:** Uh, okay. I can do that.

**Midoriya:** Seriously, if she isn't wearing clothes, I'm gonna leave.

With his night planned, Izuku hopped out of bed and dressed to head out. He finally decided on a pair of cargo shorts, green t-shirt depicting the Wild, Wild Pussycats on it, red high-top shoes, and a long trench coat. He didn't really need the coat, but found all of the pockets super useful to hold his notebooks and other supplies he liked to carry on him when he went out.

He poked his head into the living room and, after a brief explanation later, headed out to the diner that Jiro had identified. He noticed he had arrived before the other two so he ordered himself a tea and took a seat at one of the tables outside. Pulling out his notebook he flipped around before he started to draw one of the people he had seen fighting during the exam.

He was so absorbed in his drawing that he didn't notice the two others sitting with him, both sharing a questioning look before watching him go to work ad he drew. They let it go on for a little while before even bothering to get his attention.

"Damn Green, you're really good at that."

Izuku jumped in his seat and looked up quickly. "F-fuck…" He let out a breath and slammed his fist into his chest as he coughed in embarrassment. "I didn't see you two sit down, sorry about that." He took a moment to compose himself while the two smirked over at him. "So… Kyoka Jiro and… Hagakure, right?" The two nodded. "Well, I'll introduce myself in person, I guess. I'm Izuku Midoriya."

"Toru Hagakure, nice to meet you." The redhead gave him a thumbs up and a small smile, her cheeks still dusted with pink. He took a moment to look her over now that he didn't feel so awkward looking at her. He remembered the long red hair and the bright yellow eyes. He drank in her rather buxom build for all of a single heartbeat before he looked away, ever so thankful that he couldn't actually blush.

"I'm just glad you're wearing clothes this time." He mumbled under his breath. "So, what do you wanna know first?" He looked between the two and realized he had never really looked at Jiro too hard. Jiro had chin length violet hair with triangle shaped onyx eyes and eyelashes that seemed just a tad longer than normal girls their age. The most noticeable feature, however, was the jacks that were attached to her earlobes. He didn't stare though; he already knew what it felt like to be stared at.

Jiro looked over at the other girl before turning back to Izuku. "I think we need to breach the elephant in the room."

"Pretty sure that's not how the saying goes, but go ahead. What's on your mind?" Izuku's lips curled up in a small smile.

Hagakure looked unsure for a moment before steamrolling her way forward. "Can you really see me!?"

Izuku sat up straight, unprepared for the sudden outburst. "Uhhh, yeah?" He looked between the two girls not bothering to hide his utter confusion. "Why do you seem so surprised by that?"

"What do I look like?" Hagakure was leaning forward now, giving him a clear view down her shirt. He stiffened up and forced himself to meet her eyes and instantly felt bad.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't meaning to look. Just… ya know?"

"Dude… Are you for real right now?" Jiro asked, looking absolutely astonished.

"I didn't mean to stare at her chest alright? It just kinda jumped out at me and I wasn't expecting it and…." He palmed his face and groaned. "Shutting up now before I dig myself a deeper hole."

"Midoriya." Hagakure didn't sound mad so he tempted looking at her again. "If you really see me, what do I look like?"

"Ummm… well, I have something here that might prove…" Izuku's hand dropped and he started to dig through his notebook. "Long red hair, bangs are curled in the front ever so slightly, large round yellow eyes, button like nose…" He mumbled for second before finding his page and turning it to the girl, sliding it between the two.

"This…. Is me?" Hagakure whispered. There were tears in her eyes.

_'Ah fuck, I know I've still got a ways to go to draw better, but I didn't think it was that bad.'_ He thought to himself. "Look, I know I'm not that good at drawing… Sorry for not asking permission first."

Hagakure shook her head rapidly and smiled up at him, teeth full on show in a genuine smile. "I couldn't be happier!"

"Damn!" Jiro let out a low whistle. "You are a babe Hagakure!" The two girls were pointing out things on the drawing and talking between themselves.

"Why are you acting like this is the first you've ever seen her? I feel a little out of the loop." Izuku admitted.

"Dude." Jiro deadpanned. "I can't see her. She's invisible to me."

Izuku cocked his head to the side and looked between the two in confusion. He took stock of everything he knew. The girl had been extremely animated with her hands earlier, she had acted surprised when he told her to put clothes on, desperately asking what she looked like… "Oh… oh fuck! You gotta be kidding me! What the fuck!"

"Damn Green, you just now realizing that?"

"Is that what the gloves are for?" He asked rapidly. "People can't see your face so they don't know how you're reacting, so you use your hands and body language to show people how you feel… Is that why you were in just gloves and boots during the exam? If no one can see you, then they couldn't find where to attack and you could use that to your advantage. You'd be perfect for stealth missions and intelligence gathering and…" Izuku's eyes fell to the table in front of him as he began to mutter about possible ways to utilize her quirk to the best of their abilities and how useful it would be to be invisible all the time.

"Midoriya? You're doing it again." Hagakure giggled into her gloved hand.

"He does this a lot?" Jiro asked with a smirk.

"He was doing it before the written exam. I broke him out of it when handing out the tests and he admitted it happens quite a lot." Hagakure reached out and snapped her fingers in front of Izuku. "You in there? Hello?"

Izuku jumped in his seat again and scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry, sorry, yeah I'm here. Got a little carried away with it again, my bad."

Hagakure waved off his apology. "Is there… any chance I can have this?" She asked gesturing to the picture in the notebook.

Izuku immediately shook his head. "Nah sorry, I've already got a bunch of stuff written down about you and what I had perceived to be your quirk. I'll have to do some editing on it though now that I actually know what it is."

Hagakure seemed to deflate into partial sadness, but understanding.

"I can draw another one for ya though if you want." He offered. "Just not that one, gotta keep my research intact." Hagakure nodded rapidly, her beaming smile coming back in full force. "Cool, I'll do that while you guys ask whatever questions you had about the exam." He took back his notebook and pulled out another one, a new one, from seemingly nowhere. "Please excuse my staring for a few minutes, I'll try to get it as accurate as possible."

"Okay, I'll start off with what bugged me the most. You said your heart stopped beating a long time ago, what is that supposed to mean?" Jiro asked while watching Izuku draw. If she hadn't been so interested in the answer, she wouldn't have minded just watching him draw for a while. He was pretty good at it.

Izuku started into Hagakure's eyes for a few seconds before nodding and drawing a bit of extra detail, slitting the iris' ever so slightly to look more like a cat's eyes. "I meant what I said. I assume you have some enhanced hearing?"

Jiro nodded, but realized he wasn't looking at her what with him trying to draw. "Yeah, that's part of my quirk. I have really enhanced hearing. If I focus, I can hear heartbeats from up to twenty feet away."

Izuku looked up at her for a moment in awe. "That's so cool. Can you hear other things? Like, can you hear people's blood pumping through their veins, or the muscles stretching as they strain them?"

"Uhhh… sometimes, depending on what the person is doing. When you were trying to pick up the wall from me, I could hear your muscles tearing. That didn't sound like it felt very good, but you seem fine now."

Izuku waved her off. "I'll explain that too, I guess. But yeah, I don't have a heartbeat. Therefore, blood doesn't flow through my veins anymore. Here watch." Without even thinking about it, he grabbed the fork off the table they were sitting at and stabbed it deep into his forearm. The girls screamed and pushed away from the table, but he quickly went on and pulled the fork out. "See?" He showed them the puncture points and watched as they sealed over in a dozen seconds or so.

"Warn a person next time, for crying out loud!" Jiro snapped at the teen in front of her.

Izuku shrugged impassively. "Hagakure, sit back down. I need to see you up close to get all the details. I can't see you so well in the setting light from so far." He waited until both were seated again before he went back to drawing and explaining at the same time.

"Almost three years ago I fell off the roof of my high school. Broke my back in several places and cracked my skull open. Died on impact." He shrugged his shoulders and kept most of his focus on drawing the best that he could. He had lost count how many times he had explained the whole thing. Leaving out the intimate details of his death and the experiments with David Shield on I-Island, Izuku slowly explained his story while finishing up the picture.

"Alright Hagakure, I think I'm done." He held the picture up next to her face and looked between the two a few times before nodding and carefully taking it out of the notebook to hand it over to the girl. "Sorry I'm not a better artist. Maybe sometime in the future, once I'm better, I can do another one for you." He offered with a shrug of his shoulders. "Any other questions?"

"What about the birds?" Jiro asked. She had been doing most of the questioning what with Hagakure being so anxious about the picture.

"Ah that's… that's a bit new. I recently found out that I can bring things back to life for a short time after they die, but only if it's recently. They only last for two days at most from what I've seen. Might have to do with the amount of energy I put into it, I dunno. It's something I'll have to figure out eventually though." Izuku shrugged impassively, though inside he was wondering why he was telling them so much information. _'Maybe because they are going to be classmates. It would be nice to have someone that isn't a mad scientist to talk to about this stuff.'_ He surmised to himself.

"That's. Fucking. Metal." Jiro looked absolutely starstruck. That felt strange to him, not even the Pro Heroes he had talked with in the past had seemed so excited about what he could do, then again, they didn't know about him being able to bring back dead animals. Maybe he shouldn't tell them, or maybe not; Yu would probably freak out.

Hagakure didn't seem as enthusiastic about it, but she wasn't running away yet, so that was a thing.

"So, if you ever have a pet suddenly die on you, give me a call and I'll make sure you can get one more last goodbye before they have to go forever." Izuku offered. It sounded good in his head anyways. "Enough about me, I wanna hear about your quirks."

Hagakure pointed her thumb at herself. "I'm invisible. Don't know how I'm doing it, because I can't turn it off, but I'm invisible to cameras, video surveillance, people, dogs, birds, just about everything."

"Everything except Green over here." Jiro grinned, seeing something she could use to tease her new friends over, though she vowed to hold onto it for how. She wouldn't want to scare them away too fast.

"You guys can call me Toru. I think we've hit the point of being friends, and I don't like being too formal." Toru suggested while bouncing in her seat.

Izuku had to concentrate his focus on her face to keep from watching her chest bounce in her tight… He stopped that train of thought before it could go any further. "Sounds good to me, you both can call me Izuku if you want."

Jiro blushed and looked down at the table so as not to meet eye contact. "I-I'll try. I'm no too comfortable with Izuku using my first name yet, sorry."

Izuku waved her off. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure we'll get there someday." He barely noted the blush deepen, but paid it no mind. "What about you Jiro, what's your quirk? Besides phenomenal hearing anyways."

Jiro cleared her throat and sat up straight. She reached up and twirled one of the jacks on her ears. "I call it headphone jack. I can plug them into walls and hear further distances away and, if I connect them to a speaker, I can broadcast my own heartbeat at heightened frequencies and volumes."

Izuku started to write extremely quickly in his notebook under Jiro's name, jotting down everything he could think of before it left his mind. After a few minutes he nodded down at the notebook. "Okay I think that's all I'll be getting for now. Oh, Jiro!"

The two made eye contact and Jiro flinched back, blushing again, at the intensity of his stare. "Y-yeah?"

"I didn't ask Toru, and that was wrong of me. But, can I draw you sometime? I'd like to get it right in my book. I try to do that for all heroes, I doodle with prospective gadgets and outfits for them too. Really anything that comes to mind that could possibly help the hero in question." He sent an apologetic smile to the redhead. "Sorry again for not asking first."

"No, it's okay!" Toru exclaimed. "More than okay! This is the first time I've actually seen what I look like! Even when I look down at myself, or at my hands, I can't see anything, so it's kind of refreshing to not be invisible to everyone, ya know?"

"At least you're pretty and not stuck looking like a twelve-year-old." Izuku deadpanned. "But yeah, I get it. And for what it's worth, I'm happy that you're happy."

"I-I wouldn't mind." Jiro spoke up quietly. "Especially after seeing how you drew Toru here." She grew serious and glared over at the boy across from her. "Don't even think for a moment that I'm going to give you a show, though! My clothes are staying on, little man."

Izuku's eyes widened and he scratched the back of his head with his hand and awkwardly chuckled. "Y-yeah, sounds like a plan. Maybe some other time though, the lighting isn't really good right now."

Jiro's face was neon pink and she dropped her face into her hands. "I can't believe I said that out loud."

Toru squealed and hugged the girl next to her in her sheer excitement. "That's so cute! He's gonna make you look so good, Jiro!"

Izuku began to chuckle, but it cut off with a yelp when Jiro stabbed him between the eyes with one of her jacks, knocking him and the chair over backwards. "Shut up Green, or we'll have to see if you can regenerate your eyes next!" The girl glared at where the green-haired teen had been sitting.

Izuku chuckled weakly, poking his head over the edge of the table to make sure she wasn't going to stab him again before picking the chair up and taking a seat. "This was fun. Felt a lot less like an interrogation than I thought it was going to be." He admitted. "And! I got a bunch of new stuff to start working on! I'm gonna make you guys the best at what you do, just you wait! I'm gonna find new ways for you to use your quirks, so many that you won't know what to do with yourselves! You'll be so powerful! Oh, and send me what you guys' are going to be requesting for your costumes. That'll give me a base point on what you're looking for, I can build off that!"

"Damn Green, really getting into it aren't ya? You sure you shouldn't be in the support class?" Jiro teased.

Toru nodded along with Jiro. "For real. You have some serious hero-otaku going on."

"At least it's a hobby!" He defended, pointing a finger between the two of them with a slight glare. "And it makes me a better hero! I can analyze a quirk after watching it for just a few minutes, with all the research I've done, I know perfect ways to counteract other quirks I run into!"

The two girls looked at one another with a grin, even though Jiro couldn't _see_ Toru's expression, she could _feel_ it. "Hero-otaku." They both teased the boy.

"It's a legitimate strategy!" He defended throwing his hands in the air.

After some chuckles, the three chatted for a few more minutes before calling it a night. It was nearly ten at night already and they all had school the following day. With one final goodbye, and Toru and Izuku exchanging numbers properly, they all headed their own directions.

Seeing as it was so late already, Izuku decided to take an extra-long route to the Bakugo home and see his mother's grave. Maybe tell her about his test. She'd like to hear about it. That brought a smile back to his face, brought back memories of the times he had with her.

He sent a quick text to Mitsuki that he might not be coming home tonight and that he would be back home after school the following day. It didn't take much explaining, the woman was used to Izuku disappearing from the house for a few days at a time, but as long as he kept her up to date on his general whereabouts.

Not an hour later he found himself sitting in front of his mother's grave, the same place he found himself at least once a month. Even after all this time he found himself longing to hear her talk again, longed to bring her dinner at the hospital when she worked the night shift. Through that longing, he only grew more resentful of Bakugo.

"I took my exams." He started out after several minutes in silence. "I even had a chance to watch some of the competitors that were there. I can't wait to find out who made it so I can develop their strengths."

He could practically hear his mother telling that she was proud of him, whether he got in or not. She would stumble over her words and they would end up crying together, then she would tell him that as long as he promised to be careful, she would continue to root for him.

He debated for a moment about what exactly to tell her. "Don't freak out, but something happened during the test." He squirmed a little. He hadn't even told Aunt Mitsuki about this yet. "One of the girls t-took the test n-naked." He raised his hands up in front of him as if to stop her from freaking out. "But it's okay! Turns out she's invisible. Her quirk keeps everything about her invisible. According to someone else there, she usually looks like a set of floating clothes."

He chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "I thought she was just a pervert when I first saw her and did my best not to stare, but… that was the first naked girl I'd ever seen, so it was a bit hard at first, but once the practical started, I focused on passing. Ended up saving her and another girl named Jiro from a big, giant robot. They both are really nice so I already started on figuring out ways for them to get stronger."

He continued to go over what was happened during the exams, acting out animatedly at some of the parts that he thought were exceptionally fun or exciting. Over time he calmed down and ended up staring at his hands.

"I know you're not happy with how I'm going about things. How I'm manipulating Bakugo to make him get stronger, that I'm purposefully helping out others so they will be more prone to helping me out." He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't want friends, or maybe I do, I don't know anymore. But what I'm doing isn't actually hurting anyone. In the end it'll be better for everyone involved."

He rubbed his hands across his face to gather his thoughts. "Yu isn't trying to be in the tabloids anymore, not after she and Nemuri got together. Nemuri is still as scandalous as before, but I can see the difference. She's happier and it doesn't look like she's trying to fill a role anymore. Getting them together was for the best. Would they be mad at me if they found out I coerced them into their relationship?" He chuckled. "Without a doubt. They'd be furious, but they are better heroes because of it!"

He stood up and pointed off towards the town, his anger spiking. "People were already calling them all those names and assuming things about them, so what if I had to twist a few arms and play off their fear of me to get men they interacted with to admit what they had said? Those men didn't need to know I was recording them. Besides, Kamui and D.A. weren't willing to say anything for their friends, so I had to do something. Kamui and D.A. are good men, but they're weak willed, unwilling to go against the grain."

He growled to himself, trying to keep his wits about him despite the anger that was growing in his gut. "They were already friends at the agency, I just had to show them that they would be better off with one another instead of jumping between guys to find 'the right one'. Now, with Yu and Nemuri together, they don't have to worry about what men are after if they try and date, they can just be happy with one another!" His chest heaved and he forced himself to take a few long, deep breaths to calm down. "It's not like I get anything out of them being in a relationship except them thinking higher of me. I'm not trying to sleep with them, so it's helping everyone involved."

He slumped to the ground, knowing his anger was getting out of hand again. "When I'm planning and twisting people to make them better, I don't' get as mad as I did during that first year after everything happened. I haven't physically hurt anyone since those lawyers tried to take away yours and dad's life insurance money away. I'm just lucky that Kamui had a lot of sway with the local government. Even though I'm dead in the government's eyes, we were able to fight for me to retain an emancipation and they won't try to take money or things from me anymore."

He didn't know why he was explaining things again, maybe because it was one of the few therapeutic things that he got around to doing now adays. "I miss you so much, mom. I'm going to become the best hero I can and I'm going to change things on my way to the top. I may not be saint-like and when people eventually find out what I'm doing and what I'm willing to do to get there, I'll probably be deemed villainous. But, hopefully, by the time people see what's happening, it'll be too late and I'll have done a lot of good for society. And no, killing is still off the table. That won't help anyone, no matter how evil the person is or how much they deserve it."

* * *

Izuku woke up a few hours later, still leaning against his mother's tombstone. He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but after venting for a while and divulging some plans for the future to his mom, he hadn't felt like moving. Ignoring the soreness in his back he stretched, gave one more last goodbye, and headed off.

It was still dark out and the town seemed mostly quiet aside from the odd vehicle passing by. He thought briefly about heading down to the beach, now that it had been cleared up mostly. Oh, he had heard the stories about someone cleaning it up. Some said it was a blonde boy and All Might cleaning the area up, others said that the sea had reached out and reclaimed the trash. His favorite one though was of a girl taking all of the trash and using it to make robots and other inventions.

He had no idea if any of them were true, or if they all had bits of truth to them, but it didn't really matter. The beach was a nice place to relax when he didn't want to be around anyone. Especially at night when it was so cold, it made him feel comfortable. He didn't have to worry about people questioning him and he could do whatever he wanted. It helped that after the beach had been cleaned up, some rich family had built an outdoor gym for anyone to use.

With his mind made up, he jogged down to the beach. Once there he decided to do some light calisthenics before he really got down to his workout. He took off his shoes and socks and jacket, placed them in a neat pile by the stairs, stretched for a brief few minutes, and took off at a near sprint down the sandy shore. A mile down and a mile back and he could feel the slight drain on his stamina. It was a good milestone, before he wouldn't have been able to sprint for more than half a mile before running out of breath and having to rest. After checking his phone, he glared at it, unhappy with his times. Just under a four-minute mile pace. That wasn't even fast at the beginning of quirk times.

He didn't bother to put his shoes back on before he made his way over to the workout area. Something caught his eye on his way over and he had to backtrack to see someone sitting in the corner of the concrete wall that overlooked the ocean. She was curled up and looked to be shivering so he made his way over quickly.

"Miss?" He asked quietly, hoping to avoid scaring her. She didn't respond so he tried again, a little louder. "Miss, are you okay?"

Still nothing. A frown marred his face and he grew worried. "Hey, it's not safe for you out here." He reached out to gently shake her, but the moment his hand touched her shoulder she leapt at him, her eyes crazed.

The two tumbled back and Izuku dropped his clothes only to feel a knife pierce into his stomach. "Don't touch me!" The girl screamed, pulling the knife back to stab him again.

Izuku caught her wrist before she could pull the knife out the second time and held her in place despite her being far larger than he was. "Hey now, stop that." His voice was more irritated than angry, he could see why she would freak out in the first place. He'd fine that away for next time. Wait, was he already planning on finding more girls sleeping in the darkness? His brow furrowed at the thought.

The girl brought a second knife up and stabbed him in the neck with her other hand. "I'll make you bleed for this!" She cackled.

Izuku grabbed her other wrist to hold it in it's place as well and looked at the girl strangely. "Now just hold on a moment. I wasn't trying to hurt you miss." The girl squirmed and tried to pull her hands away, but Izuku held firm despite the knives in his body. "If you promise not to stab me again, I'll let you go. How does that sound?"

The crazed girl cocked her head to the side and stopped fighting, her expression turning to curiosity more than anything. "Why aren't you bleeding?"

Izuku sighed and, in a burst of speed that the girl didn't expect, he twisted her wrists to make her let go of the knives. In her surprise he slipped their situation, twisted the girl around so her back was to his chest, and grabbed both wrists with one of his hands while the other arm wrapped around her neck. "I think it's clear that I'm stronger than I look." He flexed his arm around her neck to cut off her oxygen briefly before easing off so she could breathe. "I'm gonna let you go, don't try to stab me again."

The girl hesitated, but nodded and stumbled away when Izuku pushed her away to create some distance.

"Ah fuck." Izuku grabbed the knives and pulled them out. When the girl didn't try to attack him again, he tossed the knives over to her and blinked in surprise when she caught them skillfully out of the air. "Please don't stab me again, I was just trying to see if you were okay."

The girl wasn't listening, but instead staring down at the black sludge on her knives curiously. "Is this your blood?"

"If you can call it that anymore, then I guess?" He had no idea where that was going, he was pretty sure people in the area knew about him.

The girl brought a blade up to her mouth and licked the black sludge off and shuddered with a moan.

"Oooookay…" Izuku didn't know how to react to that. "That was creepy…" Did this girl have a mental disorder or something? What was her deal?

"It tastes so good!" The girl quickly licked her other blade and looked up at Izuku. "It makes my head tingle!" She looked hopeful after a few moments and her eyes shone in the dim lighting above them. "The other voices aren't telling me to stab you anymore!"

Yup. Crazy. Just his luck. "Thanks? What's your name? I'm Izuku Midoriya."

"Himiko, Himiko Toga." The girl responded, a blush covering her cheeks and she squealed in excitement. "I know we're going to become the best of friends Zuzu!"

Izuku sighed. He didn't know if he had the mental capacity right now to deal with this. "Look, I'm gonna go workout, are you alright here? You really shouldn't be out this late. Can I call you a cab to take you home?"

"I have an apartment that I broke into a few days ago, but I think someone called the cops because they were snooping around when I tried to go back today." The girl shrugged as if it didn't really matter. "That's why I came out here, people don't really question you if you sleep on the beach."

Izuku took the time to get a good look at the girl in the dim light of the streetlamps. Her blonde hair was all knotted up and had a bunch of dirt and sand in it. Her cheeks and hands were also covered in dirt. Her sweatshirt seemed to have seen better days with the stains and tears in it.

"Ah… fuck… Here take this and come with me, it'll keep you warm." Izuku handed her his trench coat and waved for her to follow him. "I'm still gonna workout, then we'll get you someplace warm and get you cleaned up. Sound good?"

The girl skipped up to him and took his jacket. It was a little small on her, coming up several inches short on her arms, but the length still covered her to just above her knees. It was only then that he realized she was wearing shorts, too short in his opinion. "Oh, it even smells like you!" She squealed again.

It was official. He attracted crazy blondes. Murdering teens, eccentric Pro Heroes that self-proclaimed to be his older sister, and now what seemed to be an on-the-run blood addicted criminal. He didn't look back at her after he passed, but he could hear her skipping along behind him, humming happily.

"So, let's start from the beginning, Toga. You're gonna need to tell me about yourself so we can plan on how to help you best." Izuku called over his shoulder while he set up weights on weight bar to bench press. He stopped when she took up a seat near the head of the bench. "You're gonna stab me when I lie down aren't you?"

"Maybe?" She asked somewhat shyly. "But your blood tastes so good!"

"Alright, look. I'm gonna need a lot more information than that." He sighed. "And don't stab me again, we can talk about my blood after you've told me your story."

"Just a little? Mr. Stain wouldn't let me have any of his."

Izuku rubbed his face and waved the girl back a few steps. "After you've told me your story, we can talk about it." He raised a finger at her warningly. "But if you stab me again, I'll break your hands. Then you'll get none."

* * *

**[Bakugo Family Home]**

"Explain it to me again." Mitsuki sat across from the two teens. "Because I just don't seem to be understanding why, after meeting this girl, you feel the need to help her out. No offense, dear." The Bakugo matriarch smiled gently at the dirty blonde woman.

"Toga's in a bad spot right now, Auntie." Izuku tried to reason. "I'm not asking for money; you know me better than that. I just need the keys to my old place so she has a place to stay until she can get back on her feet. I won't insult your intelligence by explaining her past to you again. You know she needs help, so just let me help her a little while. At least I came and asked for the keys, I could have just stolen them out of the safe and done this all behind your back."

Izuku was mostly surprised by the girl next to him. She had done a near 180 from when he had first met her. He knew that she had a pretty severe case of schizophrenia or even multiple personality disorder based off her telling him what her past had been like and the voices in her head. But, after some talking and giving her some of his blood, she had calmed down a lot and appeared to be completely normal right now. Besides, even if she was a little crazy, she seemed almost devoted to him now after just a few hours.

It wasn't like she posed a REAL threat to him anyways. Even if she stabbed and cut him up, which she had sworn she wouldn't try to do, he would just heal from it. Besides, with her quirk, she was just too useful to him to just throw her at the police. He'd figure something out for her while he was at U.A.

Mitsuki's smile turned mischievous. "I know you're almost eighteen, but I didn't think you would be trying to bag a girl to live with so soon."

"Auntie, it's not like that and you know it." He was growing angry now, clearly seeing where she was leading this conversation. "Kaachan and I'll be moving into the dorms at U.A. when we get our acceptance letters anyways. Kinda hard to live with a girl when we're at different places every day. I'm just helping her get back on her feet"

"You sure you aren't just trying to take advantage of this pretty young lady?" Toga even had the decency to blush and look down at her hands at Mitsuki's insinuation.

Izuku's mood turned from exasperated to deathly in the blink of an eye. "I think I'm done asking." He pushed back from the table roughly and stood up, the chair clattering to the ground behind him. "I'm taking the keys and moving her in."

"Zuzu?" Toga asked in confusion when the boy left the room. She blinked at where he had left and turned back to the female Bakugo. "W-what?"

Mitsuki was beyond pale at her mistake. "L-look, Toga right? If you're after a relationship… If you're looking to use Izuku for sex… I won't judge you, even if you are…" A screech of metal bending made the woman flinch. "But it won't work out." The woman was whispering and looking down at her hands now. "I won't get into it, it's not my secret to tell…"

"Toga, let's go." Izuku's voice was cold and devoid of emotion when he came back, not even looking in the room. "I'll have a new safe sent over tonight, Mrs. Bakugo." He heard Toga scrambling out of the kitchen chair to follow him out the door.

Mitsuki stared after the two in despair. "Fuck…" She whispered to herself. Maybe she could get Masaru to talk to him. Her husband was much better at fixing these kinds of things.

She brought out her phone with shaky hands and dialed her husband. "H-hey… can you come home?" She tried to not sound like she was crying, but she knew her husband knew her better. "I fucked up, I fucked up bad… No, I'll explain when you get home."

* * *

Izuku slammed the door to his old apartment open, cracking the drywall when the door slammed into it. Toga skipped past him and gave herself a tour while he pulled out some dried and canned foods from the pantry to get her something to eat.

"So why do you have this place if you don't live here?" Toga called from one of the back rooms.

Izuku had to swallow down a lot of his anger and tried to focus on heating something easy. "I don't like to live here too often. I live with the Bakugo's usually. This is my old apartment before my mom died. I paid it off after I got her life insurance money. Leaves a lot of depressing memories when I'm here alone, so I only come by every so often to clean up."

Izuku left a small stew simmering on the stovetop and directed Toga to his mother's room. "You can use some of the clothes in here until we can get you some new ones. You can use whatever you need, just don't sleep in the bed. You'll sleep in my old room." He dug out a clean shirt and some workout pants then handed them to the older girl. "Go shower, towels are under the sink. I'll have something ready for you to eat when you get out."

Toga snatched the clothes and darted off into the bathroom causing Izuku to let out a quiet chuckle. _'She acts like a damn little girl when she's excited.'_ He thought to himself, pulling the bathroom door shut when he saw she had forgotten in her haste. "I'm going to call a couple of my friends to see if they will take you shopping." He called through the door.

"Can't I just go with you?" She called back through the door, speaking loudly over the already running water. "What if the voices come back when you're gone?"

"I have some calls I have to make and a couple of places I need to go to set up what we need to so you don't get arrested when you're found." Izuku leaned against the door. "I'll even send you with some of my blood so you can drink it if you start to feel strange again, like we did just before meeting with the Bakugos. I'm gonna go check the food, try not to take too long, the water heater is a bit old and you'll run out of hot water soon."

He quickly brought out his phone and opened a group chat with the two girls he had met at the exams.

**Midoriya:** I need a favor from you two.

**Midoriya:** Kind of an emergency.

It took a few minutes before he got a reply, but by that time he was plating up the food and cleaning the cookware while he waited.

**Jiro:** What's up?

**Jiro:** Someone hurt?

**Jiro:** Do we need to call the cops?

**Midoriya:** No, nothing like that.

**Toru:** What kind of emergency?

**Midoriya:** I need help clothes shopping, for a girl.

**Midoriya:** It's awkward to talk about over the phone, I'd rather this in person.

**Midoriya:** Are you guys free for a couple hours?

**Midoriya:** I only know guys and they won't be of any help with this.

**Jiro**: Uh… yeah I guess that's fine. Meet up at the same place?

**Toru:** I can ditch the fam for a bit if it's for shopping.

**Toru:** Do you just need help for a date?

**Midoriya:** Not clothes for me, they are for a girl.

**Midoriya: **No, not the diner, can you come by my place?

**Jiro:** Inviting a couple of girls over for an 'emergency shopping spree'? How can we say no?

**Midoriya:** It'll be worth your time, promise.

**Midoriya:** Bring any of your other girlfriends with you. We need all the help we can get.

He threw in his address into the text and got confirmation that they would come and would ask their friends for help. By the time he had finished the texts and cleaned up Toga had already devoured her plate of food and had licked the plate clean. He sighed and pushed his plate over to the girl, along with a couple of napkins for good measure.

"My friends are gonna come over in a bit to take you shopping. I'll give you my card so you can buy some clothes." He explained sitting across from the girl. He had to admit, she looked far prettier now that she was cleaned up.

"Really?! You'll give me money to get clothes? And you're giving me blood?" The girl cocked her head to the side. "Why?"

Izuku smiled somewhat darkly. "Because I can use you, that's why."

"Sorry but I'm not gonna have sex with you, even if your blood tastes good." Toga burped loudly after finishing her second plate and Izuku slid her a glass of water before she could ask.

"That will be the last time you bring up sex with me, Toga. That is your only warning." Izuku clenched his teeth, hissing his breath out. "I don't want sex from you. I want to use you to help me change things in our society." The girl perked up. "You don't like how things are with heroes and how people treat quirks, neither do I. So, what better way to change things than to do it with the next generation of heroes? I'm going to end up going to U.A. and with your help, we can change things for the better."

Toga brought her feet up on her chair and hugged her knees. "How do you expect that to happen?"

"I'm going to make some calls, and you are going to have to answer some uncomfortable questions." Izuku nodded and pulled out a notebook that he had at the ready. "I need you to trust me, Toga. I'll help clean up your past, you help me with our future."

Toga seemed to think about it for a few minutes before shrugging. "Keep helping me keep the voices gone and I'll go along with your plan. Speaking of, do we have time to get my fix before your friends show up?" The girl's eyes sparkled and she leaned forward.

Izuku couldn't help but chuckle and nod. He extended his arm out to the girl, knowing that she would prefer to take it directly if they could help it, she had told him as much in the few hours they had known one another. Besides, it didn't hurt him anyways so he didn't see a reason to deny her these small things.

By the time Jiro and Toru showed up at the door with another girl in tow, Izuku raided his mom's supply of medical equipment in her room to find a needle and vial to store some congealed blood in for emergency use if Toga needed it.

He let the three in with a small smile and introduced them all. "Everyone, this is Himiko Toga. Toga, this is Kyoka Jiro." He gestured to the purple-haired girl dressed like a punk rocker before gesturing to the other girl. "This floating pile of clothes is Toru Hagakure. And this is their friend…" He looked over at the newest arrival.

"Mina Ashido!" The bubbly pink girl bounced in place, giving a peace sign and a vibrant smile. "Nice ta meet ya, Midori! Toru's told me so much about you!" She went on, speaking a mile a minute.

"Toga here is in a bit of a rough place, that's why I called you girls to come help. She's been mixed up with some pretty bad people and I found her sleeping on the beach last night. She'll be staying here, but she needs some clothes." He explained briefly. "That's where you three come in. I know nothing about fashion and I'd rather not have everyone thinking I'm a pervert by having a girl I barely know try clothes on in front of me." He deadpanned.

"Is she gonna live with you?" Toru asked bluntly.

"No, I do not live here. I own this place, but I don't live here. This is where I stayed with my mom when she was alive." He took some keys out of his pocket. "Toga will have the only set of keys to this place." He handed over the keys to the tall blonde along with his card. "She doesn't have any clothes that are her own, so use this to pay for whatever she needs."

Toru and Mina jumped in place and cried out happily. "Don't you worry, we'll take good care of your girlfriend! She'll be even more beautiful than she is now when we're done with her."

Izuku shook his head and frowned sternly. "She isn't my girlfriend, and I won't tolerate that kind of talk today. She needs help, I'm helping her. Nothing more than that." He turned to Jiro who seemed the most responsible of the three. "Buy yourselves an outfit on me for helping us out, but try to keep everything under a thousand dollars, please? I'm not made of money."

Jiro gave a sarcastic salute to the short green-haired boy. "Whatever you say, Green. What are you gonna do in the meantime?"

"I'm going to try and fix it so her past can't come back to bite her." He nodded to himself. He had a plan, but a lot of it depended on his relationship with the police thus far. It was a shaky plan at best, but he had a feeling that it would work. "Anyways, you have my number if you need me. Otherwise, I'm off to go clean up." He nodded at the four girls and left.

* * *

True to his word, Izuku made sure to order a new safe for the one he had destroyed. He felt a little bad about how he had left things, but had stayed away until his letter had shown up two weeks later. During those two weeks he had worked with Toga to clean up her past.

Once his letter had come in, he had gone to get it from Mitsuki, and after telling her that he forgave her for what she had said, had told her that he would need a few more days before he came back. The woman had been sad, but understood that she had hurt him with her careless comments and didn't push.

"Are you gonna open it already?" Toga asked impatiently from where she was lounging on the couch behind him, kicking her feet in the air. The ankle bracelet flopped around on her ankle, but otherwise wasn't a hindrance.

Izuku sat on the ground in front of the couch and frowned at the letter. "I know I made it in, at least I know I did enough to get into the general course, but I'm just nervous ya know?"

"If you're just gonna stare at it, I'll open it for you!" Toga leaned over him and snatched the letter from his grip, ripped the end and deposited the metal disk from inside onto the coffee table. "See? Not so hard!"

Izuku glowered up at the girl leaning on his back, but was distracted when the disk turned on and a hologram shown above it.

A haggard looking man with bags under his eyes looked back at them with a piece of paper in front of him. "Izuku Midoriya." The voice drawled emotionlessly. "Under our specific guidelines and rigorous exams, you have accomplished what most would have thought impossible for someone like you."

The man disappeared and neon lettering shown up in his place while his voice spoke over it. "During the written portion of the exam, you set a new record. Of the two hundred questions you answered a miraculous one hundred and thirty-two. Of those that you answered you correctly answered one hundred and twelve. You answered an average of a question every sixteen seconds."

"Holy shit, Zuzu!" Toga hugged the boy's head tightly, her arms covering his eyes. "I didn't know you were that smart!"

"Toga, let go, I can't hear what he's saying!" Izuku struggled to get the girl off of his head, but only managed to pull her over him to fall on her back into his lap. He put a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet while he tried to listen.

Scores popped up on the screen in front of him. "You may not have answered the most questions- there were six examinees that answered all two hundred questions- but you almost doubled the next examinee in correct answers." The list backed up what he was saying displaying Izuku's name at the top with his score while the next score below him was seventy-seven then seventy. Scores dropped dramatically after that, most not even reaching fifty points.

The man popped back on screen. "Just from your scores alone would give you a slot in one of our programs." The man looked off screen for a moment then nodded. "Our principal is requesting that you come in the day after you receive this to have you take another test to see if it was luck or if you were actually able to answer the questions through knowledge."

Izuku nodded seriously at the screen, knowing how it would have looked from an outside perspective. He pulled his hand away from the girl on his lap when he felt her licking it.

"Your sweat tastes bad." Toga wiped at her tongue in disgust.

"Hush you." Izuku wiped his hand off on her shirt. It was her fault it was wet anyways.

"The practical exam was far less extraordinary though." The man looked back down at his paper. "You achieved forty-six points before engaging against the fourth and fifth types of robots. Normally that would be enough to get you into our hero program, if you hadn't lost points for the fourth and fifth types. We had told you that you would lose ten points for destroying the fourth robot, which would have dropped you to thirty-six points."

The paper dropped and the Izuku felt like the man was looking into his eyes and it made to teen shudder. "You had no idea how many the fifth robots were worth, but you fought them anyways to give time for two examinees to get to safety. This selfless sacrifice cost you all of your points."

Izuku paled and scenarios ran through his mind. "Well, at least I did enough to get through to the general course. I can work my way up from there…" He mumbled to himself.

"But it was a logical ruse from the beginning. The fourth and fifth types of robots didn't add or remove points from your score. They were there to test your resolve in a combat scenario. That isn't all." Izuku's eyes widened and he held his breath, ignoring the loud cheering coming from Toga as she lay in his lap. "If we merely gauged our scoring off how combat oriented you were, we wouldn't get nearly enough applicants. We also have a category that is based merely off what our examiners see and witness during the test. That is why it takes two weeks to send out these results, we have to look over the video and determine points based off your actions."

Izuku was crying now, but he was smiling at the same time. "We call these, hero points. As their name suggests, you gain these points when you do something heroic." The man disappeared and it showed Izuku helping the violet-haired boy learn how to take out the robots effectively before showing the video of him helping Jiro and Toru.

"Wow, Zuzu! You look so badass!" Toga cried out, wrapping him in a tight hug. "The girls told me all about it, but seeing it is another story!" He missed the look in the girl's eyes until he felt her sharp teeth latch onto his neck to draw some of his blood.

"Damnit Toga! Stop that!" He pushed the girl away and wiped away her spit from his neck while the bite marks healed over. "You can have blood later! I need to hear this right now!" He sent a glare over at the girl, but she only giggled happily to herself as she licked off the remnants of his blood from her lips.

"For the actions you took, for giving assistance to examinee 210 in how to defeat robots so he could protect himself, and for sacrificing your own test results to save examinees 455 and 932 from the fourth and fifth types of robots…"

The screen changed to a scoreboard again and Izuku's name lit up the top spot once again. "You scored a total of eighty-five points. That gives you a total of one hundred and thirty-one points. Not our highest ever recorded in the practical exam, but enough to make the top ten of all time."

Name Villain Points Hero Points Total Points

Izuku Midoriya 46 85 131

Katsuki Bakugo 77 0 77

Itsuka Kendo 31 40 71

Fumikage Tokoyami 55 10 65

Ochaco Uraraka 50 15 65

Izuku's jaw dropped at the scores of the people once again. He had nearly doubled the score of the next person yet again! He could hardly believe it. It was another thing that he would be able to tease the other teen for. Speaking of which, he quickly pulled out his phone and took a picture of him sticking his tongue out and pulling his eyelid down.

**Midoriya: **SUCK IT KAACHAN! **picture attached**

**Bakugo:** SHUT IT NERD! HERO POINTS DON'T MEAN SHIT! I'LL KICK YOUR ASS WHEN WE NEXT FIGHT!

Izuku wasn't surprised when the message came back immediately. He was surprised Bakugo hadn't messaged him first to tell him off. He sent a message in the group chat with the three girls he knew took the test to see if they had made it, quickly getting responses back from them saying that they did.

The scoreboard disappeared to show the black-haired man again. "Your practical and written scores set a new record for U.A." Izuku's chest swelled with pride. "Because of this, we were willing to listen to your request that you placed through the police department. If the information you have given is proven true, we will talk about it in the future. For now, bring the girl with you when you come in tomorrow." The video shut off seconds later with the man staring lifelessly at the camera.

Izuku leapt into the air and cheered loudly. "I did it! I got in! Toga!" He grabbed the taller girl by the waist, lifted her in the air and spun them around.

Toga cheered with him, throwing her arms in the air while they spun. After a few seconds of spinning Izuku set her down and held his head to stop the world from spinning, but it couldn't stop the smile on his face. "We have to celebrate tonight. I'm making my mom's katsudon recipe, you'll love it!"

* * *

**[U.A. Facility]**

Izuku stood with Toga at his side in front of the lank man that had given him his acceptance letter and some kind of animal. "Mr. Midoriya, we were very impressed with your scores from the test. I hope you understand our hesitance with how high of a score you got on the written." The animal spoke in a high-pitched voice.

Izuku nodded sharply, understanding the seriousness of the situation. "Yes, sir."

Toga was a little less happy about it and pouted with her arms crossed. "I don't like how they are basically saying you cheated, Zuzu."

"Toga, this is serious." Izuku reprimanded the older girl, his voice lowering to a whisper. "If you want to stick around so you don't go crazy, we have to do this."

"Quite right, Mr. Midoriya. This won't be a written test, instead we will be asking you questions and you will be giving us answers in your own words. After we are happy with your responses, we will progress with miss Toga from there."

"Why are we listening to this… bear, thing? It's cute, but…" Izuku chopped the back of Toga's head and glared at the girl.

"I'm the Principal! My name is Nezu!" The now named Nezu cheered. "With that out of the way, are you ready to start Mr. Midoriya?"

Izuku nodded and closed his eyes so he could focus himself. The lanky man picked up a sheet of paper from the desk. "My name is Shouta Aizawa and I will be reading you a series of questions. Now. Question 47 on the test stated: A fire requires what percentage of oxygen to continue burning?"

Izuku nodded along as he listened, the answer coming to mind immediately. "16 percent oxygen."

"Good. Now for something harder. The distance between two places A and B is 570 km/s. A train starts from A at 50 kmp/h at 6 am and another starts from B at 80 kmp/h at 7 am towards each other. At what time will they meet?"

"11am." Izuku answered after a mere moment of calculation.

"When was the first person with a quirk born?" Nezu spoke up.

Izuku shook his head. "Trick question. It's impossible to know when the first true person with a quirk was born, but the first recorded quirk was documented-" Izuku continued to answer questions as fast as he could from the top of his head.

An hour later found Izuku slumped down in one of the chairs across from the principal's desk while he rubbed his head to get rid of the headache. He was lucky that most of the questions asked were from the actual written exam itself so he could recall exactly what he had put down prior.

"I dare say, Mr. Midoriya. You have exceeded the expectations that we have put forth for you today! That should be all we have to ask for the time being, thank you for coming in today." Nezu spoke in awe of the boy across from him.

"What about Toga? When do we start her assessment?" Izuku didn't bother to open his eyes as his head was still pounding.

"Ah, that. Yes, well after deliberating with our staff and weighing the options we had, I don't think we'll be able to accept the young woman here to any of our courses. All of the slots have already been filled and we cannot show favoritism, I'm sure you understand." Nezu sounded apologetic, but Izuku wasn't buying it.

"That's fine." Izuku stood up and woke up the sleeping Toga from the seat next to him. "I wish you both luck with the upcoming classes. I'll see you in a few years when we go pro." He had to shake the girl again to get her to finally open her eyes. "Come on Toga, we're getting outta here."

"Huh, but I was having a good nap." The girl whined, but stood up and slumped her body against him. "I'm still tired, carry me?"

"Not now Toga, we need to call Shiketsu to see if their offer is still on the table." Izuku rubbed the top of her head with a small smile. "We won't have any luck here." He explained.

"Shiketsu?" Aizawa spoke up in irritation. "We just spent another hour to see if you were as good as we thought you were and you're going to go to Shiketsu anyways?"

Izuku continued to rub Toga's head, much to the girl's pleasure. "Of course we are." He said matter-of-factually. "They already offered me a spot after you released your test scores to the public. They even offered Toga a spot to get me to come." The lie slipped out easier than he had planned.

"Zuzu takes good care of me." Toga giggled and leaned into his hand.

"It's only been a day, how did they have a chance to call you?" Aizawa questioned the validity of what the boy was saying.

"Oh, they didn't call me. I called them right after I got your letter. I figured it would be good to have a backup plan if things didn't go well today." Izuku nodded, but could tell that Aizawa wasn't happy.

"That's very mature of you, Midoriya." Nezu folded his paws in front of him. "Are you sure it's wholly necessary?"

"You already know of Toga's condition and how important it is to keep her around. I can't do that if we are forcibly separated for extended periods of time. If I'm expected to stay on campus and she can't get on campus, then that only leaves us with the option to go somewhere else." He bowed at the waist to the two instructors, forcing Toga to bow next to him. "I deeply apologize for taking up so much of your time."

"I wouldn't be so hasty now." Nezu jumped up on his desk to get closer to eye line with the green-haired teen. "What you are asking for is that we let a criminal to join our classes based off your word and hers that she is under rehabilitation and trying to be better. She could probably get better help from medical professionals, are you sure you would give up on your chances to go here just to help her?"

"I'm not giving up on coming here, you just aren't giving me a real option. You want me to give up on helping her so I can live out my dreams. This is working and I'm not willing to sacrifice her progress just because someone else 'might' be able to help her." Izuku frowned at the principal. "She helped take down a killer. If she's willing to turn herself in to do that, despite what could have happened to her, then it'd be poor of me to not try to do the same. What kind of person would I be if I wasn't willing to sacrifice so little for her?

Nezu and Aizawa met eyes and it appeared they were having a mental conversation. They locked eyes for well over five minutes before Aizawa sighed and nodded. "Alright. There is a way for her to join the hero course. We can open a slot for a support hero in each of the classes for first years and claim it's something we are testing out." Aizawa turned to Toga. "What are you capable of? A quick rundown of your abilities, if you would."

"I'm good with bladed weapons, specifically short blades. Oh, and I'm good at hand to hand fighting. Aaaaaand, my quirk can let me turn into other people with but a drop of their blood. The more blood I have, the longer I can stay in their form. I can mimic mannerisms and voice patterns like it's second nature." Toga pulled her sweater off and handed it to Izuku. "Hold this."

When she turned back, her form moved fluidly and a second copy of Izuku was standing there, even the clothes melding into what he had been wearing that morning when he had given her blood. "so, uh… I'll say something smart…" Her face fell to Izuku's usual passive stare he usually wore. "….."

…

Her face fell and she slumped forward, still speaking in Izuku's voice. "I can't think of anything right now…" She sighed, stepped behind Izuku, and let her form slip back to what it had been prior. Izuku didn't look back, but pulled a spare set of clothes from his jacket to let her get dressed again before handing her the sweater he had been holding.

"What else can you do?" Aizawa asked while rubbing his face. "I can already tell this is going to be a tough sell."

"We'll figure something out before the year starts." Izuku spoke up with a nod.

"She must be really important to you." Nezu intoned in interest.

"She has the ability to change how quirks are looked at." Izuku reasoned. "I used to be quirkless and people would look down at me for it, so with people already looking at her like she was a villain because she needed blood to activate her quirk, I couldn't help but draw parallels in our lives growing up. Because of how people saw her, her mind had to find a way to cope, and she hasn't been in a good place for a long time. Now she's willing to fight for the good of everyone. I'm sure we can change everyone's mind on quirks and revert it to how people act with their quirks rather than what the quirks can do."

Aizawa nodded his head in understanding. "See that you do, Midoriya. You'll both be moving into the dorms as soon as you graduate from high school."

"I'll call you by the end of the week to set up a time to come in." Izuku nodded. "I had already planned to take my final exams early, might as well do it as soon as possible. Gives us more time to train before the year starts."

Nezu hopped down into his chair and opened a drawer, then handed two ID's to Aizawa. The lanky man walked over and handed the already printed registrations to the teens.

"So it was all just a test?" Izuku looked up at the man with a raised eyebrow. Toga didn't seem to are too much about what was being said in favor of inspecting her new ID.

"A logical ruse." Aizawa was smiling somewhat manically. "You have some large shoes to fill, Midoriya. See that you don't let us down."

"Miss Toga, we are putting a lot of faith in you and this young man." Nezu said seriously. "We will have our teachers watching out for any slip ups. They will act accordingly. If you think you can get away with things because you are in someone else's skin, know that outside your rooms and the bathrooms, we have cameras set up all over the school."

"No stabbing people while pretending to be someone else, got it!" Toga stuffed her ID into her shirt with a grin.

Izuku locked eyes with the lanky teacher for a few moments then nodded with a smile. "We'll see you soon, sir." He pulled Toga along with him as they left. "Come on Toga! I've got finals to ace!"

"Yay!" Toga skipped along behind him.

Aizawa waited until the door closed behind them. "She's gonna be trouble. I can feel it."

Nezu hummed in agreement. "Keep an eye on her, but try to let Midoriya take care of her as much as possible. He'll be ultimately responsible for her if anything happens."

* * *

**AN: More set-up here than plot progression, sorry about that. The next chapter will have plenty of plot progression in it, nothing to worry about. Please keep up with pointing out inconsistencies or things you don't like about the story so I can adjust my plans as necessary. Yes, Toga is in the story and she'll play a pretty big role.**


	4. Moving In (re-upload)

**Chapter 4: Moving In**

**AN:Before anything else, I want to say that I reworked the beginning part of this chapter. I wasn't happy with it and I've had a few people that I lean on for help tell me that it was pretty bad. So, it's almost entirely rewritten. Less angsty and less cringe worthy. That's why I deleted the chapter then reuploaded it.  
**

**Special thanks to Natsu Is Awesome for helping me out with this chapter. He's been an extremely valuable asset for me to bounce ideas off of. Check him out, he has a ton of stories out there and is an excellent writer!**

* * *

**[Midoriya Apartment]**

Izuku knew, deep down, that he shouldn't be disappointed. He really did. He knew he was smart, that was a given, he had always been somewhat smart. But his exams had been too easy, even for him. He couldn't help but feel his school had dumbed down his test to get rid of him faster. Maybe it was the complexity of the questions they asked compared to the questions asked by U.A. during their written exam. Even Bakugo hadn't aced the test like he had, and Bakugo was first in the class. The only thing that brought him peace with that, even if it was true that they had dumbed down the tests, was that he would never need to step into that damned school again.

After the test, and his following frustrations over it, did he find out just how intuitive Toga was. He knew she wasn't dumb, but her ability to read the situation and know just how to calm him down was a surprise. Almost as soon as he had stepped through the door she had, from her spot lounging on the couch, had read his mood and drug him back out the door.

Without speaking she had drug him down to the beach where they had first met and out of nowhere had started attacking him, no trace of her usual manic smile anywhere to be seen. At first, he had been mad, downright furious after his frustrations over the exams. His mind hadn't been in the right place and it affected how he fought. All he would have needed to do was grab onto her to make her stop, just grab her with one hand and he would have been able to remind her just how dumb it was to attack him.

But, probably much to her own planning, he hadn't been able to even touch her. She had weaved around his arms, slashing him with one of her ever present blades. She hadn't gone for the kill like she had tried in their first encounter, but she had instead toyed with him. She cut with deadly accuracy, sliced through the tendons in his ankles to make him stumble, sliced through the underside of his wrists so he would lose control of his fingers, and even with his staggering regeneration, he couldn't do anything about it.

She had utterly destroyed him, again and again. Every time he fell, she would wait for him to get up then she would attack again in another way. She destroyed his confidence in himself over and over again, never letting him get so much as a breather before she was on him again. By the time she had decided she was done, he was covered in sweat and stumbling around while she barely had the beginnings of a sheen of sweat and she wasn't even breathing hard.

She had then dragged him to a restaurant and made him buy her lunch, immediately dragging him into a hunting store just after they finished so she could look for different knives, then dragged him back to the apartment and shoved him into the couch with one of his notebooks and told him to rest.

It was surreal to him, in the few weeks he had known the girl, she hadn't so much as suggested they do anything. She had always followed his lead so it was… it was not a bad change, but it different for her to take action like that.

That was where he found himself now, staring blankly at the notebook in his hands while the girl lay with her feet in his lap watching whatever show she was into at the time. It took him much longer than he would like to admit to go over everything in his own mind. He had grown complacent in what he was capable of, she had shown him that much. He was strong enough to bend steel with his bare hands and he could regenerate from just about anything, but he didn't stand a chance against the girl lying next to him.

For all his knowledge and strength, he was just too slow. Hell, she hadn't even been breathing hard when she had finished toying with him. He tried to tell himself that if he had been prepared for her attacks, he would have had a plan devised to combat her speed, but that didn't help. He had let his anger get away from him and hadn't even tried to plan a way around his deficiencies.

A socked foot pushing on his face brought him out of his thoughts. "You're mumbling too loud, can't hear my stories." She hadn't even bothered to look at him. "You're supposed to be resting, stop using that big brain of yours and just relax."

He gave a weak chuckle and flipped open the notebook, flipping it to one of the pages he already had started on. When a break in Toga's show came up, she sat up to see what he was doing. She let out a low whistle. "Is that supposed to be me?" Toga asked curiously, her attention thoroughly grabbed.

Izuku shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. "Its not you, it's for you. You haven't given me much to go on for your hero costume, so I'm taking the liberty of making a few designs that I think you would like." He waved his hand in the air while he thought about how he wanted to word things. "With your… problems with your quirk."

Toga withdrew into herself, shrinking away from Izuku ever so slightly. Izuku snatched her hand and looked over at her. "Not the blood. You're clothes." He clarified quickly. He watched as tension seeped out of her and her shoulders sagged in response. "When you change you told me your quirk dissolves your clothes, that poses a problem for us. I would rather you not have to run around in the buff once you use your quirk."

"I try to take off my jacket whenever I know I have to change." Toga shrugged her shoulders. "That's worked out so far."

"You're not living on the streets anymore, Toga. I'm not going to explain how that would look on a hero to run around naked while saving someone." He stated sarcastically. Toga cocked her head to the side in an overly innocent manner that he didn't believe for a single moment. "So I'm trying to devise an outfit that can fold in on itself for later use when you change. If I can't get that to work, we need to find a way to have you carry multiple sets of clothing in compact capsules."

Toga's innocent demeanor slipped into a teasing smirk. "You just don't want anyone else to see me naked, do you Zuzu?"

Izuku let go of Toga and rubbed his face. "Can we not have this discussion again? Yes, you're pretty, yes guys are going to be staring at you when your quirk fades. I'm trying to keep everyone, not just myself, from staring at you." He sighed and shook his head to get the discussion out of his mind. "Changing subjects, how did you get so fast? I don't believe you moved that fast when we first met."

"Ah!" Toga sat up straight and nodded. "With the voices gone, I'm able to process things better. Besides that, I had to get fast living on the streets. Before I met Mr. Sting, there were lots of guys out there looking to get a handful, I had to learn somehow."

Izuku frowned, hearing the tightening in her voice. "Did-"

"I don't want to talk about it." She said flatly. "Can't happen again anyways now that I have Mr. Muscles watching over me." She gave him a grin that didn't reach her eyes.

"Would you mind helping me rework my training?" He asked, tapping his notebook with his pen while pretending he hadn't noticed her forced smile. "I don't think my body will repurpose itself to be speedier, but I can at least work on my reaction times. We can come up with ways to plan on how to fight speedsters."

Toga shrugged and rolled her shoulder, prompting Izuku to twist her around to face away from him and started to massage the stress out of her back. She may not want to talk about what happened, but he could clearly see that she was still uncomfortable about it. This would give him a way to show that he cared without just coming out and saying it. That seemed more her speed anyways. Toga groaned and he could feel her relax almost immediately. "I'll message Mr. Aizawa later to set up a time to meet up so we can move into the dorms. I'd also like to take you to meet the Bakugo's, officially this time."

Toga hummed to let him know she was listening though she hadn't taken her eyes off the television. "I'm meeting with Pinkie, Jacks, and the nudist day after tomorrow. I'll need a little money to get a new stone to fix my knife." She told him with a wave of her hand. "Push a little harder, you aren't going to break me."

"I'll give you the card after we move in. Make sure you think about your costume design though. Bring it up with the girls if you're having trouble, I'm sure they'd help." He offered.

* * *

**[U.A. Gates]**

Mitsuki had insisted on driving Izuku and Toga with what little possessions they had to the dorms and help them move in, bringing Ami in tow with them. Katsuki had decided to stay behind and move in another day, but Izuku knew it was because the teen was more than a little afraid of Toga. Toga had blatantly asked Izuku for permission to stab Katsuki in front of the rest of the Bakugo family.

Izuku had laughed it off and defused the awkward situation, but Izuku could see that the girl clearly disliked Katsuki. He'd have to ask about that sometime as he knew he hadn't told her about what had happened between them. Maybe that was just another part of her intuition shining.

Aizawa was waiting for them at the gates when they walked up though Izuku couldn't see past the stack of boxes in his arms. "Didn't want to take more than one trip?" he drawled out sarcastically.

"Easier this way!" Izuku called from behind the boxes, letting Mitsuki direct him by small pushes so he wouldn't bump into anything or anyone along their trip.

"Follow me." Aizawa lead the way to the dorms the two were being assigned. The building was seven stories tall. There were 10 other buildings in a line all exactly the same, though the one they entered was labeled 1-A. The other year's dorms must have been in another location to separate the grades. "Bottom floor is a common room, kitchen, and series of small study rooms meant for one person. The study rooms are sound-proof and lock from the inside in case you need some quiet space outside your rooms to devote to your studies."

Aizawa lead them around the bottom floor pointing things out. "Kitchens are stocked by our staff weekly. You can either eat here or at the cafeteria. The cafeteria is open for breakfast and lunch, but dinners will have to be made by yourselves. If you want junk food or snacks, you'll have to buy them yourselves or make them with what we provide."

Aizawa told Izuku to leave the boxes in the two elevators according to who they belonged to. "The elevator on the left." He gestured offhandedly to the metal doors in question. "Go to the female side of the dorms, while the right side goes to the male side. The second floor has washing machines and a communal bathroom separated by genders on their respective sides."

They toured the male side before heading up to the top floor. "There are three rooms per floor and have already been assigned. If you want to change rooms, wait until everyone else shows up and deal with it between yourselves. Once you've all settled in, have someone update me on any changes. Izuku will be on the seventh floor at the end of the hall."

After dropping the boxes off in the room, Izuku took a quick look around. There was a twin bed, small desk, a couple of bookshelves, and a sliding glass door that lead to a small balcony. It left plenty of room for decorations or personal affects, but was otherwise a pretty spartan room. The five went down the elevator and back up the other side. "Toga will be on the fourth floor, first door." Aizawa yawned and pulled a map out of his pocket. "The campus is pretty big, but fairly straightforward with everything labeled. If you have any questions, ask them now."

Izuku let Mitsuki ask her questions she had while he helped Toga bring her boxes to her room. "If that's all, since you're the first one here, I'll let you take care of helping your classmates get into their rooms. There are packets everyone needs to fill out once they've settled in. I left a stack in the common area, be sure to read everything over so we don't have any issues later on. Now, if that's all, it's too early and I'm going back to bed." Aizawa left without another word down the stairs.

"I can't believe you're moving out already!" Mitsuki clutched onto Ami tightly and looked sternly to Izuku. "I'll task you with keeping Katsuki in line and you better make sure you come visit every so often." The woman looked between Izuku and Toga for a moment before handing Ami off to the boy. "You take Ami and go start unpacking, I need to have a word with your little girlfriend here."

Izuku sighed and took the little girl from his aunt before handing his credit card over to Toga. "Give it back when you get back from your time with the girls. Text me if anything comes up, and be sure to let your parole officer know we've moved in. We don't need you getting another ankle monitor while we're here." He threw a wave over his shoulder and left the room while talking animatedly to his little sister about all the things he was going to learn while he was away.

Mitsuki waited until she heard the elevator leave before turning back to the girl. "I know the first time we met wasn't exactly the best impression, but I have a couple of questions for you." She took a seat on the bed and gestured for Toga to take a seat as well.

Toga instead pulled out the desk chair and sat facing the backrest while smiling calmly at the elder Bakugo. "I'm not using him, if that's what you're going to ask."

"How can I be so sure? You come out of nowhere and he starts buying you things, even giving you his card. He worked out some deal to get your past expunged and even got you into school here. You have to see what this looks like from my point of view." Mitsuki leveled a glare at the teen, slightly upset that she wasn't able to throw the girl off. The girl should have been afraid of what Mitsuki would do to her, damnit!

"Have you met the guy?" Toga threw her arms out to her sides in exasperation. "I'd have to be a lot more subtle to actually manipulate him! He may look young, but he scored higher than any other contestant in the exams between the written and practical! Hell! Have you seen what he can do with his hands?"

Mitsuki blinked at that and blushed. "Please tell me he isn't paying you for sexual favors? I know he cant… well… but…"

Toga laughed at that. "I don't know if he even has a sex drive to begin with, but no. He's made it clear that he finds me useful and with what he's done and what he's still doing, I kinda owe it to him to help him out. Our goals are pretty similar and he showed me that the way I was going about things before wasn't healthy and there was a better way."

"So he kinda saved you, that's why you're with him?"

"Kinda?" Toga looked a little confused. "I haven't had too many people help me in the past, at least not without looking for something from me. He's at least up front with me about what he wants. He wants to make heroes better and thinks I can help him there."

"Just… Don't hurt him? He's strong on the outside, but I still see him as that broken boy that fell off his school. He's a little broken inside and I worry about people taking advantage of that." Mitsuki reasoned.

"I have no doubt that if I did something like that to him, he would tear me in half." Toga shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't think he'd go that far, but it probably wouldn't be too pretty. I've only seen him really mad a few times and it still scares me. Kid's got a temper, I'll admit as much, so be careful pushing him too far."

"No, I mean he would probably physically tear me in half. I've watched him run down the beach with almost a ton on his back." Toga's eyes glazed over at the memory. "Imagine what he could do to someone if he really meant to harm them. Might want to warn your son, I'm sure you've seen some of the looks Katsuki gives Izuku when he doesn't think he's looking."

Mitsuki blinked in surprised. "He RAN with that much weight?"

"Probably could have had more, but the barbell didn't have more room for any more weights. I was even sitting on his shoulders, but I don't weigh that much." Toga nodded.

"Damn, he packs a lot in that body of his. But I don't think you have to worry about my brat. They may not get along but I don't think he's that dumb. He stopped bullying Izuku after the accident."

Toga leaned in closer to the woman. "Holy shit." The girl whispered in honest surprise. "Gonna have to bring that up with him soon, can't believe you don't know."

"Know what?" Mitsuki backed away from the girl.

"Izuku hates your son." Toga said bluntly. "With Zuzu's strength and how much pain he could bring if he lost his temper, just imagine what he would do to the person he sees as responsible for his death?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!" Mitsuki launched to her feet and stepped up close to Toga, looking down at the teen heatedly.

Toga chose her words carefully. She didn't have the FULL story, but she was good at picking things up from comments and interactions between the two. "Your son didn't just bully Zuzu, he tormented him for years. Why do you think Izuku was on the roof alone in the first place? Izuku doesn't like crowds and the only demerits in his records are fights between him and bullies. Now, what do you think he would do to his personal bully if he was willing to fight for other people being bullied?" Toga didn't back down from the older woman standing above her, the elder Bakugo growing angrier the longer she spoke. "Your son's walking a very thin line right now."

"How in the hell would you know any of this? He's never brought any of this up with me before, I would have put a stop to it!" Mitsuki was seething.

"From what I've gathered, he had nowhere else to turn to after his mother's death. Without you giving him a home, he would have been shipped off to some orphanage or foster family that he couldn't trust. He was in a vulnerable state and latched onto what was available and familiar. Could you really say you would have let Zuzu stay knowing what went on between the two?"

"I'll strangle the story out of Katsuki. I'll find out exactly what happened." Mitsuki stormed to the door, but stopped when Toga's voice called after her.

"With how thin your relationship is with Zuzu right now, that might not be the best idea. If he didn't feel like he could bring it up in the first place, what makes you think he wants you to be in the middle of this right now? I'm only telling you this now so you can warn your son to be on his best behavior around Zuzu." Toga smiled now, a sickly-sweet smile. "Even if Zuzu doesn't do anything, I will."

"Is that a threat?"

"Yup!" Toga nodded, happy that the woman was seeing what she was saying. "He doesn't need me to protect him, but I'll do it anyways. He's done enough for me so far that he deserves it. Again, don't try to fix this between them, it's between the two. Just warn your son, I'd rather not deal with the fallout if he pushed Zuzu too far one day."

Toga stood and let out a sigh. "Look, he obviously cares about your family, maybe that's why he hasn't said anything, or maybe he thinks he needs to take care of this himself. He's a bit broken, that's a given. I just thought you should know, that's all."

Mitsuki nodded slowly, her mind reeling at what she had learned today. She didn't know how much she could trust this girl, she had only been around for a couple of weeks, but a lot of what she said made sense. "I'll keep it to myself for now, but I'm going to do some digging of my own so I can get some answers."

Once Mitsuki was gone, Toga blushed and put her hands to her cheeks with a giggle. _'Zuzu's gonna be so mad when he hears about this, but at least I didn't stab Katsuki.'_ Izuku had only mentioned she wasn't able to hurt Katsuki, well specifically he said not to stab the boy. But, in her mind, that meant it was alright to tear apart the boy's support structure. It'd make Katsuki more reliant on her Zuzu and whatever he was planning for the blonde. Maybe he'd even let her in on the plan after this!

Using her good mood, Toga sent a text to Jacks to see when they wanted to meet up and started unpacking what little she had. She'd have to pick up some more things to decorate her room while she was out and Izuku wouldn't mind, well probably… Eh, she'd deal with that when the time came.

* * *

The next week went by without much fanfare. With Toga's help, Izuku set up training programs for them and Izuku spent a lot of time developing his speed. It wasn't going well and, though he was steadily increasing his reaction time, Toga continued to destroy him in training. It had been another blow to his ego to find out she was holding back on him back on the beach that day, even now she staying just out of his reach even as he got better.

His first big hurdle was when he got a message from Aizawa that his first classmate was showing up. He didn't know why he was so nervous, but he calmed himself by cleaning the dorms. He even had to clean the female washrooms after finding out that Toga wasn't necessarily a tidy person. She wasn't messy or anything, but it was more of an organized chaos and he didn't want to give his first classmate a bad impression of them.

The doorbell brought him out of his thoughts and he rushed to the door. A tall black-haired woman stood regally at the door, a large moving truck behind her. "This is the dorm for class 1-A, hero course, correct?"

"Yeah, this is the place, are you moving in today?" Izuku asked with a nod.

"Yes. I was told someone would be able to help me bring in my things, is that you?" The woman standing at the door was striking with her long black hair drawn up into a ponytail. Her gray eyes seemed kind, but had a sharp edge to them that seemed to pull him in. She was dressed in a simple red sundress and white sandals and had a caring smile that painted a comforting picture of a young woman.

"Yup, I'm Izuku Midoriya. I moved in early so I'm helping everyone else get situated when they show up. How much stuff do you have?" He asked, walking with her to the back of the moving truck.

"Nice to meet you, Midoriya. I'm Momo Yaoyoruzu. I don't have too much, just a few necessities from home." She hit a button on the side of the truck and the doors opened.

Izuku stared in shock. "I don't… I don't think all of this will fit in the rooms…" He expected a few things, but the truck was filled nearly to the brim.

"Well, I didn't know exactly what to bring so we'll just have to bring in what we can and I'll send back whatever won't fit." She stated with a nod as if that were enough explanation.

"O-okay." Izuku was still stunned by how much was in the truck, but nodded anyways. "I'll give you a tour and show you your room so you have an idea of what you want to bring up, sound good?"

"That sounds like the most logical plan." Yaoyoruzu nodded her acceptance. "I'll be in your hands, please take care of me."

Izuku was used to feeling small next to people, but this had to be the tallest girl that he had ever met. He tried not to stare while he gave her a tour, but the teen had to be at least 6 foot 6 (198cm) and towered over him. Yu didn't count, her quirk was cheating. When he finally found her room on the top floor, he wasn't entirely surprised by her reaction given how much she had brought with her to begin with.

"It's smaller than my second closet, but I'm sure it'll do. We'll have to take the bed out to make room for the one I brought; I won't be able to sleep on something this hard." She commented after testing the bed and finding it not to her liking.

_'Just how rich is this girl!'_ He thought to himself, his eye twitching at her casual flex of how much she had.

"We should bring the piano up first so I can see how much more space I have left," The girl nodded and lead Izuku out front.

"I don't know if the piano will fit, but we can give it a try." He mumbled, not too happy about the sheer size of the piano. It was made out of marble and had gold accents.

"Is there anyone else around that could help us move it? It's a bit heavy, even on wheels. We'll have to tip it up on its side to get it through the door too." The girl listed off a few things they would have to do to get it moved, coming up with ideas on how to get things done while ignoring Izuku.

"Nah, I got this, just keep the door open for me." Izuku moved a few boxes out of the way and set them next to the truck before lifting the monstrous grand piano. With a small hop from the raised bed of the truck, Izuku carefully made his way towards the dorms.

Yaoyoruzu stood in shock at seeing the feat of strength, but jumped into movement after a few seconds of dumbly staring at her classmate when he got close to the door. "You're stronger than you look, though I shouldn't be surprised since you're here."

Izuku chuckled and, after finding out that the piano wouldn't fit in the elevator, trudged up the stairs. While the two continued to bring in boxes, and her enormous bed, Izuku gave her the instructions Aizawa had left him with.

Once they were done, he checked the time. "I'm going to start dinner soon. We'll be having one of our other classmates join us after she's done with her workout and I'll be sure she introduces herself. I'm used to cooking for more than myself if you want to join us."

Yaoyoruzu clapped her hands happily in front of herself and gave a slight bow. "I would much appreciate that. I don't have much talent in cooking, my mother insisted on having our cooks provide all meals for us."

Izuku chuckled weakly. "No worries, I'm more than happy to help. Tell you what!" He perked up and turned excitedly to the woman. "If you give me all the details about your quirk and all you know about it, I'll keep cooking for you on a regular basis."

"I'd have told you if you asked anyways, but I'll accept your gracious offer." Yaoyoruzu smiled prettily.

Izuku nodded resolutely, excited to get more information on one of his classmates. "I've done a little research on everyone in our class, but the school is being stingy on details so I haven't had much luck in that regard. Do you like Soba? It's my mother's recipe so I'm sure you'd like it."

"That will be fine with me, thank you."

"I'll leave you to settle in and get yourself cleaned up. When you're done, come downstairs and I should be done in a little while. It was nice to meet you, Yaoyoruzu." Izuku gave a small bow and left to get started, going up to the roof, then down the stairs to the male side of the dorms so he wouldn't have to go down then back up the other side.

He sent a text to Toga that they would have company and to remember to get showered before joining them for dinner. He never got a response, but saw that she had at least seen the message so he grabbed his mother's cookbook from his room and brought it down with him. He didn't need the cookbook for the recipe, he had long ago memorized it, but it brought him comfort to look at it. Made it feel like a part of his mom was still around.

Considering the heat outside, he decided to go for a cold soba with vegetables. He had been so devoted to his work, humming to himself, that he didn't see the message from Aizawa about another classmate joining them.

It was a surprise to him when he turned to see a boy with heterochromia hair of red on one side and white on the other sitting at the counter behind him. The two stared at one another for a moment, Izuku in the process of rinsing the noodles while the other boy sat at the counter and watched with a blank stare. "Ummm, hello? Are you moving in today, too?" Izuku finally broke the silence before shaking off the feeling that he was being analyzed.

"Yes, I was told there would be a short boy to help me move in. I assume that is you." It wasn't a question and Izuku tried not to take offense to the cold tone.

"Izuku Midoriya." He offered, going about making dinner. "I can help you find your room and bring in your stuff if you want, just give me a few minutes to finish up here. I made extra so you can join us for dinner if you'd like."

"That would be nice. Thank you. Are you in the hero course or do you work here?" The boy droned on.

"I'm in the hero course, I just got here earlier than everyone else so I've been tasked with getting everyone moved in." Izuku explained, throwing a smile over his shoulder. "There are two others here with us, they'll be joining us for dinner so I'm sure they will introduce themselves when they show up. What's your name?"

"Shoto Todoroki." Todoroki nodded.

Izuku grabbed one of the packets of papers and handed it off to the teen while explaining what he knew about the school. After chopping and setting the vegetables in a pickling solution he helped Todoroki find his room on the third floor and left the boy to his devices, telling him to come down in a few minutes if he wanted to join them.

After messaging her, Toga hopped down the stairs shortly after he was finished with the food, followed by the other two not too long after. Izuku plated up everyone's food and everyone introduced themselves at one of the dining room tables.

"So how did you two get in, I didn't see your names on the scoring list of the exams." Izuku asked in between bites.

"We got in by recommendation." Yaoyoruzu supplied for the two, if somewhat hesitantly. She feared his reaction, the others from her high school hadn't had kind things to say when they found out.

"That sounds awesome! You guys must be super strong already if you've already been scouted enough to be recommended before even joining a hero course!" Izuku gushed, jotting down information in one of his notebooks with his free hand.

Yaoyoruzu sighed with a hand clenched to her chest. "I was kinda worried how people would react finding out we got in the easy way."

"Nonsense!" Toga supplied with a cheer. "I heard the things they had you do were harder than the general exams!"

Izuku nodded in agreement. "The expectations for you two must have been crazy."

"I got in through academic recommendation. The written test they had me take was beyond complex. I'm just happy that I had gotten in, in the first place." Yaoyoruzu admitted.

"What about you Todoroki?"

"I got first place in the practical exam."

Yaoyoruzu perked up and slammed her palm with her fist. "That was you with the ice wasn't it? No one could get past it before you had finished the course!"

"It was the easiest way through." Todoroki nodded, already on his third plate of food. "This is good, thank you."

Izuku chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "His mom's recipes are the best! You should try his mochi! All handmade!" Toga fawned over the food much to Izuku's embarrassment.

"I'm glad you like it. So, you have an ice quirk Todoroki, that's awesome. Do you mind if I pick your brain about it later? I'm kind of a quirk junkie." Izuku gestured to the book next to him.

"He's super good at analyzing quirks and setting up plans for how to better them." Toga jabbed Izuku's side with her elbow. "He's even helping me so I can extend my takeovers and thinking of ways to make it work in different scenarios."

"Toga's quirk lets her take anyone's appearance, to include their mannerisms and voice. All it requires is a couple drops of their blood." Izuku rubbed the girl's shoulder as she seemed to fold into herself in fear of judgement. Izuku went on before either of the other two could react. "She has the potential to do so much good and we are going to prove to people that just because her quirk looks evil, doesn't mean she is."

Yaoyoruzu had paled at the mention of a blood-based quirk. Todoroki didn't seem to be affected and nodded his head in understanding. "There are a lot of quirks out there that could be construed as evil if in the wrong hands."

Toga perked up a little bit and Izuku smiled at the boy. "Exactly! So what if she needs a little blood? Look at All Might! If he decided to be a villain, no one would be able to stop him! He could blow you apart with just a single punch! I haven't known Toga long, but she's already earned my trust."

Toga smiled gently at her friend and leaned against him while she quietly went back to her food.

"I'll admit that your quirk has me a little worried, Toga, but I'll reserve my judgement until I get to know you a bit better. They wouldn't have let you in here if you weren't trustworthy." Yaoyoruzu nodded to herself. She owed it to the girl who had been nothing but nice to her so far. "What about you, Midoriya, what's your quirk?"

"Ah." Izuku thought about how to word it. "I thought I was quirkless for the first fifteen years. I didn't know about my quirk, if you can even call it that, until I died."

Yaoyoruzu gasped and held her hands to her heart. "Goodness, that's terrible. At least you're okay now."

"Mostly." Izuku shrugged. "Technically I'm still dead. No heartbeat, all tests point to my brain not working, ya know, the works. But, it's not all bad. I heal really fast and as long as I keep my energy up, I don't need sleep. I've been able to work with my regeneration factor to rapidly increase my strength."

"That's how you were able to pick up my piano so easily!"

"You can pick up a piano? That couldn't have been light." Todoroki raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"It's made of marble, so I'd hazard a guess that it weighed around 1200 pounds, give or take a hundred pounds or so. He picked it up like it was nothing!" Yaoyoruzu flexed her arms in show. "Carried it right up the stairs to my room without even breaking a sweat."

"My upper limits are just over a ton at full strength, but it's getting harder to attain more. Gyms don't carry specialized weights for me to really push myself. I put in a requisition request here for the gym to get something I can work with, but I don't think it'll get approved. Not much sense in buying weights only one or two students can use." Izuku explained carelessly.

"He's selling himself short, I've watched him tear steel plates in half at the gym we used at the beach. We had to stop going there, people were complaining." Toga giggled to herself remembering all the angry looks they got when he kept hoarding all of the heavy weights to himself.

"That was you?" Yaoyoruzu asked somewhat quietly. "I heard my parents talking about some complaints of a green haired kid making waves at our outdoor gym. Never thought I would meet the person myself."

"Not like I was trying to make people mad, and I always asked before taking the weights…" Izuku mumbled. "Stuck to workouts mostly at night to avoid crowds. Easier when people aren't looking at you like a freak show. What about you, Yaoyoruzu, what's your quirk?"

The woman perked up again and held out her hand, a Russian nesting doll popping out of her hand. "Creation, as long as I know the molecular structure of what I'm trying to make I can make any non-living object. I can change the fat molecules in my body as needed, so I usually have to eat a lot to keep myself healthy."

"So lucky!" Toga complained. "You can literally eat whatever you want and you'll never have to worry about gaining any weight!"

Yaoyoruzu blushed. "Well, yeah, that's one way to look at it."

"No wonder you got in on academic recommendation, the sheer amount of different chemical combinations that you need to memorize has to be staggering." Izuku was writing in his notebook earnestly at what he was learning about his classmates. "When you two are done with your costume requests, give them to me. I'm taking mine and Toga's down to the design studio to turn them in tomorrow so I might as well take yours with me if you have them done."

After they were done eating Izuku pulled Toga into the kitchen to help with cleanup so the other two could finish moving in. He could tell that the girl was a little down after revealing her quirk's abilities and that she feared how they would react to her requirement of blood after it had time to sink in.

Izuku reached around her and dumped their dishes into the sink for her to wash while he cleaned up the counters. "You won't have to worry about that here, people won't judge you as much as they did in the past."

"I know, I'll just have to prove to them that I'm trustworthy. As long as we can keep the voices away, I don't think I'll have to worry about attacking anyone." She gave a weak smile to her friend at his kind words.

"And if they do react badly and treat you like you think they will… I'll break them during combat training. They'll understand in time that even if they don't like your quirk, they'll have to respect our strength."

"Awww, so sweet of you, Zuzu, but I'm a big girl, I'll take care of it myself." Toga grinned teasingly, her mood lightening at Izuku's casual comment of violence.

Izuku hummed noncommittally. "You're not alone anymore, Toga."

"Himiko."

"Hmmm?"

"Call me Himiko, you calling me Toga makes me feel like I'm more of a tool than a friend." Himiko whispered out, focusing on the dishes while she forced a blush down.

"Now whose being forward?" Izuku teased back with a chuckle. "But you are a tool for us to pave the future of heroes, we both are really. Doesn't mean we can't be friends too." A brief glance showed that the sun was just setting past the horizon. "I'm headed out for my nightly workout; think you can hold off till later?"

Himiko nodded. "Should be good till morning really if we take it easy."

Izuku paused to make sure she was actually okay before jogging off to get changed and head out to one of the gyms located nearby. Today he would be working on his agility and reaction times so he quickly set into his routine. He had a hard time focusing fully on his training due to nagging thoughts about how Himiko had folded into herself when her quirk was brought up to their new classmates.

Even though he had already talked to her, he couldn't help but feel that everything wasn't as alright as she had let on, enough that after three hours he had to call it quits early. Once showered he stretched in his room and sent a message to Himiko asking her to come up so they could talk. Ten minutes later and he hadn't gotten a reply, though she had seen the message. He sent another, no longer asking, but telling her that he needed to talk to her and for her to come up to his room.

Another twenty minutes later and there was still no Himiko. He sent one last message.

**Izuku: **Either you come up here, or I'm coming down there.

**Izuku:** I can see you're getting these messages.

**Himiko:** I'm tired, can we talk tomorrow?

**Izuku:** No.

**Izuku:** You either come up here or I'm coming down there, your choice.

**Izuku: **I'll kick your door down if I have to.

It only took a few minutes, but a knock at his door told him Himiko was there. He opened the door and all but pulled her in, locking the door behind them. He took in her pajamas covered in cartoon turtles and couldn't help but smile.

"What do you want to talk about?" She asked in frustration. "I was lying down already."

Izuku sat down on the bed and looked up at her, cursing in his head at their height difference. "You look good with your hair down." He commented with a small smile. "I can see why you tie it up in those buns when training though, can't imagine it would feel to good getting pulled on"

Himiko crossed her arms and glared. "You wanted to talk about my hair? Could have just waited until morning for that."

"No, it couldn't. Look. I get that you are afraid of how people are going to react to you, trust me I do. I've lived with it too." Izuku was calm and gentle as he spoke. "But I can't imagine how it must have felt going so far in your life with everyone thinking evil things about you, I've only had to deal with people looking at me in fear for a few years. I need you to understand that no matter what everyone else says, I'm here for you okay?"

Himiko's expression softened into a small smile. "I know, it's just going to take some getting used to. I keep waiting for the voices to come back and for you to leave one day because you don't want to deal with it. Either that or have you try to do something perverted. You've been nice so far, but my track record tells me that this is too good to be true."

Izuku snorted in amusement. "I have put way too much effort, and used too many of my connections to just give up on you now, Himiko. Your stuck with me either way. Besides, we both know if I tried anything perverted with you, without your permission, you'd cut me to pieces. That wasn't why I helped you in the first place, it isn't going to be why I continue to help you."

"Thanks, Zuzu. It means a lot."

"You never know, maybe we'll find some people that need stabbing here. There are many things that you are better suited for than just being a nice set of legs to look at." Izuku's smile was slightly feral, matched only by Himiko's own smile. "I have a lot of plans and quite a few of them revolve around you now."

Izuku pulled the girl into a hug, squeezing tight enough that he could hear the air rush out of her lungs. "We're going to have fun here, Himiko." He let go just enough to let her get her breath back. "You aren't anywhere near perfect, but that's what makes you, you." He gently put a hand on top of her head. "As long as you don't try to cut me up when I don't deserve it and you don't kill anyone, I think you'll get better over time."

Himiko sagged slightly in relief. "It's not like you to be so nice. You trying to butter me up or something?"

Izuku shrugged and stood up from the bed. "I can't have you questioning yourself this early in the game." He walked over to his closet and pulled out a clean pair of shorts and a tank top and got changed, not caring he was in plain view of the girl. "So just get in bed, I don't want to wake up to you trying to sneak in again."

"Hey, I don't do it that often!" She pouted, but did as he said.

"You've tried to sneak in three times this week. It's been happening enough that I was thinking of just having you move in, but that would cause too many questions. We'll have to answer enough as it is about what's going on between us." Izuku made sure his notebooks were organized and took count of how many more fresh ones he had before flicking the light off and getting in bed next to the girl.

"It's different now that we are so far away, when I wake up its comforting to know that I'm not alone, ya know?" She shrugged while trying to get herself comfortable. Izuku rolled on his side and pulled the girl's back to his chest, ignoring the shiver she let out at his cold touch. "Isn't this breaking the rules? Teach would probably kick one of us out if we did that anyways." She laughed lightly.

"We aren't dating, and we aren't having sex. There's nothing to be mad about." He reasoned.

Himiko giggled and wiggled herself against him. "It's more about how people perceive what we are doing than what we are actually doing. Besides, you're not my type, I prefer my men a little more intimidating. You look more like a miniature cinnamon roll, all cute and soft as you are. Sure, you could rip my arm off if you wanted too, but your too short. Now that Bakugo boy…"

"You're making it very hard not to throw you out my window, you know that right?" He growled out. "You can sleep with whoever, or whatever, you want, but he's off limits."

"Relax Zuzu, I'm just teasing." Toga pat the arm that he had around her with a barking laugh.

"Still thinking you'd make a better lawn dart than a friend right now." He grumbled.

Himiko let out a loud chuckle and turned around in his arms to face him. "Now that I can be attracted to. Keep the sadistic thinking and grow about a foot, then we can talk again about me warming your bed. For now, though, I'll hold myself to mentally torturing the blonde bastard. He's hurt you enough, so it's a good enough reason to set my sights on him."

She kissed his forehead and relaxed, letting sleep start to overtake her. "I know, no killing him, but we'll just have to settle for making _him_ want to jump off the roof this time."

Izuku's eyes darkened and he frowned. She was asleep before he could question her on it. He made a mental note to bring it up later, she knew something of their past and he needed to know how she knew.

* * *

After a quick breakfast of a protein bar and a glass of milk Izuku left for his early morning endurance training for an hour before coming back and gathering their requisition forms and heading off to the support facility. Standing outside the door he could only stare incredulously at the large metal doors and the sounds coming from the other side.

Metal screeched as if coming to a grinding halt. "Hatsume! Don't suddenly activate the emergency shutdown like that! We're still in the preliminary testing phase! If you break it now, we'll have to start from scratch!" A deep male voice yelled.

"You worry too much! I just need to adjust the output and it was the fastest way to let me do it! I couldn't do it with the blades spinning." A high-pitched voice cheered out.

_'That must be Hatsume…'_ He thought to himself.

"You're gonna overload the voltage at this rate! Follow procedure and get a baseline before making your adjustments! We've been over this!" The male voice called out again.

"Alright, that should be good." Whirring started up again, a high-pitched whine following her call.

"Get down!" The man called out just as Izuku pulled the door open. He saw something yellow tackle pink in a flash of movement before the room erupted in a bright white light. Izuku flinched back at the sudden intensity then he felt heat spread across his face and upper body.

Izuku staggered back a step and tried blinking the light out of his eyes, but as time went on the white spots disappeared and all he could see was black. A few seconds passed and he reached up to feel his face._ 'Yup, skin's burnt…'_ He tried to blink and his hands found that it wasn't helping and it brought him to a pause. _'That's why I can't see anything but black…'_ He mused to himself.

"Oh God!" The girl cried out and he could hear rapid movement in front of him. "Oh, shit it's so bad!"

Izuku turned his head to follow the sounds of the two in the room darting around. "Get the first aid kit, I'll call Recovery Girl!" That was the male voice again.

"Gotta say." Izuku spoke up finally, his voice slightly horse from the smoke that he had inhaled, but he could feel himself healing already. "This is a first, don't think I've ever been blinded before." He started to feel up his chest to take account of what damage he had taken. His clothes were singed and burnt, but most of it seemed concentrated on his face.

The male voice started to chuckle weakly. "Oh, thank God, it's you." The man sounded far less panicked now and Izuku could hear him hanging up a phone. "Hatsume, it's gonna be okay. Lead Midoriya over to one of the tables and let him have a seat."

Izuku thrust a hand out in front of him when he heard footsteps approach him. "Izuku Midoriya, resident dead kid at your service." A calloused hand took his and instead of shaking it like he had intended, the hand pulled him deeper into the room and pushed him back onto a barstool.

"That's creepy as fuck, kid." The man said with a chuckle.

Izuku looked over at the voice and gave a small grunt when a cool cloth was wiped across his face and he looked down at whoever was in front of him. His vision was slowly coming together at the edges of his vision, but he was still having trouble making out what exactly was going on. "Mei Hatsume." The girl offered from in front of him quietly. "I don't think first time introductions could get worse than this." Her voice sounded shaken, yet fascinated at the same time. He could feel her fingers tracing his skin on his chest as it healed up.

"Well, at least this way things can only get better?" Izuku offered with a smile. "And if you're gonna feel me up like that, you could at least offer me a new shirt first."

Izuku saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his vision before it disappeared, followed by a slapping sound of skin on skin. "You can't maim someone then sexually assault them, Hatsume! Go get him a shirt, I'll check him over from here." The male voice sounded exasperated.

Izuku could only chuckle. "No harm done; I learned my lesson. I'll knock next time." Izuku's sight slowly came back and his eyes grew wide at the man standing in front of him. "You're Power Loader!" He cheered from his seat. "I'm such a fan! I have to get your autograph!" Izuku only then realized that he didn't have his backpack on anymore. _'Straps must have burnt off and it probably fell off in the hall.'_ He reasoned to himself.

Power Loader pulled up a chair and looked the boy over a couple of times before he responded. "We're lucky that it was you and not someone else that took the brunt of the damage, Midoriya. Anyone else and we'd be lucky if Recovery Girl could fix them fast enough."

Izuku waved off the man's worry and looked over to see Hatsume standing at his side clutching a clean shirt and his backpack to her chest. "Ah, thank you! I'm glad it didn't get destroyed in the explosion." He quickly pulled the tattered remains of his tank top off and slipped the button up shirt on, not bothering to do up the buttons.

"Sorry I don't have anything better, it's one of my spares so it probably won't fit you very well." Hatsume looked a little afraid. "I'm really sorry about…"

Izuku looked down at the shirt and found it was one of the school uniforms and it was clearly the female version despite it hanging loosely from his chest. "No harm done, but might I suggest some blast shields in the future?" He pulled out the requisition sheets from his backpack and handed them to Power Loader.

Power Loader looked over the forms, nodding as he read. "Hatsume." The girl perked up and looked over. "No more experiments or building until you bring me designs for proper blast shields for each station. I want something with an emergency release that will cover the table with the push of a button in the case of further… complications." Power Loader looked up from the papers and locked eyes with Hatsume. "We got lucky this time that no one was seriously harmed. You need to start following procedure, you're starting your second year soon. You don't have any more warnings, if this happens again and someone gets hurt, I'll revoke your studio privileges and make you work costume design instead of practical application until you graduate."

Hatsume deflated, but nodded. "Yes, sir."

Izuku didn't like the depressing silence that fell over the three of them so decided to change the subject. "Can either of you help me with one of my designs? I wanted to put it on my requisition form, but I couldn't decide on what I really needed." He pulled out his notebook and flipped to the right page.

Hatsume's demeanor changed instantly and she snatched it out of his hands. "Gauntlet made of high-quality metal… with force dampening material inside… we could use steel for the prototype and…" She continued on for a few minutes as she brainstormed.

"Seems pretty basic, what did you need help on with the design?" Power Loader ignored his student's rapid mumbling to address the other person in the room.

"Tired of breaking bones when I punch something." Izuku offered with a shrug. "No matter how strong I get, my bones stay the same density and they break too easy. Watch!" He turned in his seat and raised a fist, bringing it down on the metal table with a resounding crack. The table bent under his force and he turned his hand over to show the two.

Hatsume grabbed the bruised and misshapen hand and inspected it, the skin broken in a few places and while it didn't look like anything had been broken, it was clear that some of the bones had shifted uncomfortably. Hatsume watched in awe while his hand straightened itself out and the bruises faded slowly. Power Loader was frowning at the table that was bent down the middle. "You just bent a three-inch thick piece of metal like it was nothing…"

Izuku chuckled awkwardly and, after a bit of effort, pulled his hand back from Hatsume's inspection. "Yeah hold on, I can fix it. Sorry about that, probably should have asked before I did that." He flipped the table over on its top and with a few grunts of effort he bent the table back into place. It wasn't perfect, far from it as there were a couple bubbles in the top of the table, but when he was done it was mostly flat so he put it back in its place.

"Steel won't be enough if you can do that from sitting. We'll have to submit a request for carbon nanosteel and we can always try a series of force dampening gels as a shock absorber between your hand and the metal in the meantime." Power Loader nodded while he brainstormed. "Hatsume, after today's actions you are in charge of outfitting Midoriya with what he needs."

Hatsume stiffened and offered a mock salute. "Right away, sir! I'm gonna build the best babies!" She pushed Izuku out the door quickly. "I have work to do, come back tomorrow so I can get your measurements."

Izuku left with a slightly dazed expression after taking his notebook back, but made his way back to the dorms. It set up the next two weeks of his schedule. Wake up early, workout after breakfast, brainstorm potential ways to test his classmates' quirks and plans for the future for a couple hours, quick lunch with Himiko before another round of physical training, then he would meet with Hatsume at the support studio to show her what he had come up with and to bounce ideas off her, back to the dorms to cook dinner for everyone then he'd relax in the common area with a book of some kind before heading to bed. More often than not, Himiko would join him to sleep, but he could see she was genuinely making friends with Yaoyoruzu.

After the two weeks his other classmates started showing up as well so he had plenty more quirks and people to study until one day Jiro, Toru, and Ashido showed up to move in. Already used to moving everyone's boxes he had asked one of the already moved in classmates to give them a tour and explain the rules while he took everything upstairs. Once he was done, he made the same deal with the three that he would make them dinner if they would share their quirks with him. By this time, he was already making dinner for ten people, three more wouldn't be too hard to accommodate.

* * *

Izuku sat across from Ashido with a calculating eye while drinking in her features. Her frizzy black hair looked even more unkempt than his own was, her pink skin reminded him of skin when it was irritated but it covered the entirety of her body. The small horns that poked out of her hair looked layered instead of a single cohesive piece; he'd have to ask about that during their time here. He stared deeply into the charcoal pits of her eyes, narrowing his own.

"You're gonna make me blush if you look at me so intently." Ashido giggled hoping to take away some of his intensity.

"Excuse me." Izuku stood up and rounded the table to her side to stand in front of her. Even standing while she sat, he was barely a couple of inches taller than her. He brought his face closer to hers, his eyes staring deep into hers. "Follow my hand with just your eyes, if you would." Izuku lifted his hand and moved it in slow patterns.

Ashido couldn't stop herself from blushing at how close they were to one another. This wasn't how it usually went. Usually she was the one flustering the other! All other thoughts aside, she did as he requested, only letting out a breath she hadn't known she was holding when he backed over to his chair.

Izuku was writing furiously under a page that had her name scrawled across the top. "Your eyes have flakes of green in them where your iris' should be, but they are so dark that it's hard to discern without being so close."

"Green?" Her curiosity was peaked.

"So dark it might as well not even be there, but when the light hits em, they almost look like they could be flakes of peridot." He went on without even looking up.

"Are you saying when you look into my eyes you see gems hidden within?" She giggled. "My, you really lay it on thick. Who knew a boy like you would be so smooth."

Izuku didn't rise to her bait when he finally pulled away from his notes. "I've already seen you in combat with your quirk and how it can melt through metal. Can you control the level of destruction?"

"That's easy! I secret an acid from my body mostly at will. Normally, unless I'm controlling it, my saliva and sweat are no more harmful than watered down lemon juice. If I wanted to, I could make an acid that can eat through just about anything!" The bubbly girl held out her hand palm up and let a small pool of acid gather.

Izuku reached out for her hand, but stopped a few inches short and made eye contact with her. "May I?" At her nod he took her hand in his and turned it over, his critical eye taking in all the details. "Do you ever have issues with the acid harming you?"

"At it's strongest I can only handle it for a few seconds before it starts to hurt, but I haven't tried to see if it will eat away at my own skin yet." She shook her head.

"That explains the pink hue to your skin, it's under constant irritation from your acid moving under your skin. What about viscosity? Is it always a liquid, or can you control how thick it is? Could you make it more of a slime so it would stick to walls?" He asked unaware of the blush that was adorning her cheeks at the feeling of his cool hand holding hers.

"To a degree, but I don't have much practice. My parents weren't happy with me burning holes in the house and they warned me about getting in trouble by using my quirk too much in public."

"That's highly impressive Ashido."

"Thanks, Midori! You sure you and Himiko aren't together? What would she say if she saw us sitting here with you holding my hand and looking at me so intently?" She was trying to throw him off as a way to get over her own embarrassment and turn it back on him.

"Probably remind me not to forget condoms." He intoned blandly. "But nothing's going on between us anyways, so stop implying there is. We are incompatible." He was still holding her hand, turning it over and prodding at it with the pencil he was holding in his other hand in between taking down notes of his observations.

Ashido huffed at her fun being snatched away and continued to answer his questions about her quirk. "You better cook like a pro for all these questions."

"I haven't had any complaints yet. Now, tell me about the costume you're going to be requesting from the support department."

* * *

Jiro and Toru had been more easygoing while he questioned them about their quirks and how they used them. It eventually led to an uncomfortable conversation between him and the invisible girl when it came down to her costume.

"You're going to be naked, except your shoes and gloves?" Izuku frowned down at his notebook.

"I-I know how i-it seems. But, to use my quirk to the best of my ability, it's better to plan for the worst and it'll probably lead to some uncomfortable situations between us, but it'd be better to warn you now before you see me… again." Toru was blushing brightly and fidgeting in her seat.

"I'll…" Izuku groaned and rubbed his face. "I'll do my best to not stare. I can't promise that I won't look, because I'm still a guy. I know I'll end up looking at you sometimes, but I'll do everything I can to not make you uncomfortable."

"That makes me feel better, and I didn't think you would ogle me anyways. You didn't do it when before you knew I was invisible, so I appreciate it. I promise I won't get mad if I see you looking though… It's just nice to be seen for once." Her gloved hands began to wring together on the table. "I-I have something I'd like to ask of you, though…" She whispered out, so quiet that he almost missed it.

"If it'll make you more comfortable, ask away." He said sincerely.

"I want… you… well…IWANTYOUTODRAWALLOFME!" She squeaked as she buried her face in her hands in embarrassment.

"That… that's a lot to ask for…" He swallowed roughly. "Can I have a couple of days to think about it? I don't know how comfortable I am with doing that…"

"You're the only one that I've ever met that can see me." Toru pleaded. "I never knew I had red hair, or that my eyes were yellow. I know about the general shape of my body because I can wear tight clothes… but it's not the same…"

Clothes… wait, wait, wait… "That's it!" He pushed himself up quickly and snatched up his notebook. "Sorry Toru I have to go. I need to go talk to Hatsume about this, she might be able to help me." He started to write furiously in his notebook as he walked away from the stunned girl. "I'll think about the picture, but give me a couple of days to see if I can get this working."

He was gone out of the main door before she could even think to question what that had been about.

* * *

The next day was already proving to be a headache when he was awoken abruptly by a flash of light and coos of multiple girls. With a groan Izuku rolled Himiko off his side and looked over to the door to glare at the intruders. "The fuck do you want?" He glared at the pink-skinned girl with a camera.

"Midori!" Ashido giggled and leaned out of the way for the three girls behind her to see into the room. "We couldn't find Himiko for our morning run and Shoto said we should try here, imagine our surprise to find you both in bed, sans clothing."

Izuku looked down and saw it was true that he had forgone his shirt last night and the sheets had been pushed down to his waist. "Don't look too deep into it. Why'd you pick my lock anyways? Ya could have just knocked." After grabbing a fresh shirt from his closet, he pinched Himiko's arm to wake her up.

"G-wha?" The girl sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

Izuku jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "You've got guests, Himiko."

"If we would've knocked, we wouldn't have gotten such a cute picture of you two sleeping!" Ashido showed the two the picture. Izuku was sleeping on his back with Himiko draped over the top of him. "You keep saying you're not together, but I think you're denying what's really going on."

Izuku let out a tired sigh and shook his head. "Himiko's more like a hyperactive cat than a girl. Nothing's happening there. Besides, I'm not exactly capable of holding that kind of a relationship."

Jiro frowned from where she was standing and looked him up and down. "You look plenty capable of it. I'm sure there are plenty of girls that would go for a guy your size."

"Size has nothing to do with it, I can't back up the physical side of a relationship." Izuku droned on, feeling his anger start to rise again despite trying to force it away. "I'm cold, and I don't mean my attitude. I damn near put Asui to sleep when I shook her hand because of her body's physiology revolving around that of a frog. People don't exactly correlate comfort with freezing cold touches. Leave it at that. Please." He didn't _want_ to be angry this early in the morning.

"Himiko didn't seem to mind. What with her curled all around you." Toru huffed indignantly. She didn't like it when people put themselves down, least of all her friends. With Izuku as literally the only person she had met that could see what she actually looked like, it especially irked her when he did it. He was already a friend in her mind, they shared something that no one else could."

Himiko supplied the answer for him, pushing herself up on her elbows in the bed. "It's less about a physical attraction. Zuzu's too short and scrawny for me-"

"Could still throw you out the window if you'd rather." Izuku grumbled.

"Anyways! He pulled me out of a real dark place so he keeps me emotionally stable. When I find a guy, or girl." She sent a rather perverse look over at the girls in the doorway. "Of my liking, I'll have a new place to sleep. If Zuzu grows about another foot and starts to look as strong as he really is? All bets are off!"

"Aww, but you two looked so cute!" Ashido squealed.

"Alright, I'm going to say this one more time, in black and white terms so even you will understand." Izuku glared at the girl in question. "I can't have sex. You need blood pumping to get an erection, that's impossible for me. Any relationship I get into, regardless of how well it's going, will come to an end when I can't measure up to what they need sexually. So, either they are going to end up resenting me or they are going to cheat on me. Best to just forget the whole thing altogether before that can happen."

He took no pleasure in the girls flinching, most of them blushing at his rather perverse choice of words. "Now that my day is thoroughly ruined, I'm gonna go hit something for a while. I'll leave you to helping our classmates that are showing up today, if that's alright with you Yaoyoruzu." He couldn't bring himself to look at anyone while he pulled on a pair of running shoes.

"Y-yeah, I can take care of that." Yaoyoruzu nodded and cleared her throat while she tried to combat her blush.

Izuku nodded and left through the sliding glass door to his balcony, stepped up on the ledge and proceeded to jump down the seven-story building. He landed with a resounding crunch, the concrete spiderwebbing under him. He was lucky he didn't break his legs with that jump, but he couldn't bring himself to care right then.

The five in his room merely stared dumbly at what Izuku had done. "I… I think we fucked up a bit." Toru mumbled after a few tense moments of silence.

"Ya think?" Jiro snapped. She knew Izuku had issues from the time she had gotten to know him through texts and the odd phone call here and there, but to see that he was going through something like this?

Himiko swore from where she was sitting and her eyes darted around, noticing his phone sitting on the desk next to hers. "I need to go find him."

"I think he needs a little time alone." Yaoyoruzu tried to deny the girl that was still partially lying in the bed. "Maybe it'll be better to wait until he seeks one of us out or comes back."

"No, not about that, I mean I literally need to find him. I wasn't joking when I said he was keeping me emotionally stable." She knew the ones in the room well enough that they didn't judge her about her quirk's issues with blood. "His blood is the one thing that we know that can keep me sane."

"And you need a fix or…" Jiro looked worriedly at the girl.

"Before I found him, I hurt a lot of people." Himiko slipped out of the bed, snatched up their phones, and pushed her way past the girls in the doorway to head to her room to change her clothes. "And unless you're willing to let me try some of yours, I have to find him before too long today. When we first met, I needed a lot more, but now I need it about once a day. I haven't had any since yesterday before breakfast." She admitted. Her mind was more on where she could find her friend than what she was divulging.

When no one offered, Himiko continued down the hall to her room.

* * *

**[Support Class Design Studio]**

Izuku all but kicked the door open to the support studio, the resounding bang waking up his resident mechanic. She was still wearing the same clothes from the day prior, tight fitted black tank top and a pair of coveralls up to her waist with the arms wrapped around her to keep them up. Her goggles lay forgotten on the table and when she bolted upright in her seat with a blueprint stuck to her cheek, her eyes glazed over with sleep, her hair frazzled from ambient electricity from whatever she had been working on the night prior. "Zu? wha-"

"No time, where are the weighted gauntlets you've been working on?" He interrupted her, his glower taking her aback.

"Cabinet second from the left, top shelf. Everything okay?" As he passed, she saw him picking up a couple of the boosters he had asked her to make. She hadn't seen him this angry before, it was almost like he was sapping the light out of the room. Maybe that was just her sleep deprivation playing tricks on her, she could even feel herself nodding off again. When she heard him say something and she snapped back to the present, she saw his back as he left the room. "Wait, they aren't stable eno… I'll just text him." She pulled out her phone and fired off a quick text.

**Hatsume:** Be careful, the gravitational pull isn't regulated correctly and there's a chance they can increase or decrease without warning. Also, the power system isn't ready for extended periods of testing, the heat output has a possibility to cause them to combust. A blast concentrated on your arm has the chance to sever your arm at the elbow. Don't use them for any longer than an hour before letting them cool and you should be fine.

The response was immediate, almost as if he had been staring at his phone.

**Midoriya:** Zuzu left his phone at the dorms, do you know where he went?

**Hatsume:** No, he was gone before I could ask.

**Midoriya:** Where would he go to test your gadget? It sounds dangerous and he's not in a good state of mind right now. He might push it too far.

**Hatsume:** I'll find teach and ask him if he saw where Zu went. Maybe one of the exam centers? He likes to test my babies there so no one gets hurt.

**Midoriya:** Thanks, we'll try there first! Text his phone if you find him before we do!

**Hatsume: **What happened?

**Midoriya:** Just find him first, we can talk later.

**Hatsume: **We should probably try to find him soon; he took a couple of his boosters with him.

**Midoriya: **Boosters?

**Hatsume: **Think of them like a restoration potion from a video game. Gives him a boost of stamina at the cost of his body needing more sleep/food once it wears off. Don't try to use one yourself though, it's a fixed amount of concentrated radiation. Could kill you or give you cancer.

Hatsume stood up, stretched her arms high with a resounding pop, and headed out the studio to look for her teacher.

* * *

**AN: Before anyone says anything about him being absurdly strong, even with his abilities, remember that in the MHA universe, there are literal shark people and people that can control electricity by whim. They aren't held back by laws of physics and most of their abilities cannot be explained by any rational argument. Hell, Gigantomachia** **literally evaporated part of a mountain with a single punch and All Might can even change the weather with a single punch after he was past his physical limits. It's not hard to stretch the realm of possibility, and he may be a little (or a lot) stronger than he should be able to, even in the MHA universe.**


	5. First Day

**AN: Special thanks to Natsu Is Awesome again, he's a good writer that is a lot of help for bouncing ideas off of and has been a tremendous help. If you didn't see it in the last chapter, I changed the entire first section in their apartment. Please go back and reread that beginning part. Its less angsty and less cringe worthy.**

**Also, had someone comment about this story also being posted on AO3, yes that's me. My penname there is mrmacattak.**

* * *

Izuku clamped the gauntlets to his forearms and his ankles before switching them on. He could feel the pull on them as their weight suddenly increased tenfold. It wasn't too bad, maybe two hundred pounds per limb.

He tested to make sure he could move alright, and once he was happy that they wouldn't move too much, he broke into a dead sprint. With all the weight holding him down, he wasn't moving nearly as fast as he was hoping. Without pausing in stride, he flexed his legs and leapt in the air, easily clearing the ten-foot wall in front of him and continuing his sprint. _'Stop being a fucking child about this and get over it!'_

_'Just wear yourself out and get back to your schedule, we don't have time for this little pity party.' _He thought to himself.

After a couple of laps, he felt his body falling into a rhythm so he stepped off the track to recalibrate the weights, he didn't want this to be too easy. He bumped the weights up to three hundred pounds each before they started to vibrate ominously. He carefully dialed them back until they weren't vibrating ominously anymore.

He looked around and saw that while he was alone at the track, there were people just starting to mill about the area in the distance. He gave himself a few jumps and quick sidesteps to see where his balance would be. One happy with that, he took off at a sprint again. Ten minutes later he decided to further test his capacity and pulled on the raw power that he held deep within. He instantly felt the sharp drop in his energy, but his commands had already been carried out.

Seven birds of varying species flew at breakneck speeds towards his location. A startled cry from the group of students working in the middle of the track rang out when the first bird divebombed him. He could feel the bird's presence by the energy he had infused into it. At the last possible moment, he leaned his head to the side and felt the soft feathers brush past, but thankfully just out of reach of its outstretched talons.

In short order, Izuku had all seven birds attacking him from all angles. He rolled, sidestepped, and twisted his body out of the way the best that he could while forcing himself to continue his breakneck speed. While he could feel each of their presences as they attacked, he was working on his timing to avoid them.

"Get down!" So entirely focused on what he was doing, Izuku barely had time to react as a burst of wind knocked the falcon coming at him head on out of his path. He felt the energy in the bird dissipate when it's corpse couldn't contain it any longer in its mangled body.

Izuku cursed under his breath and threw his hand up in the air, physically commanding the other birds to take to the sky. He heard two more concussive blasts off to his left and swiped his hand to redirect them hoping to keep them from further harm.

A short blue haired girl rocketed past him towards where he was directing the birds so he redirected them again to fly straight up. When the girl burst from the ground in a concussive blast of wind to take chase, Izuku made a split-second reaction and, once again pulling on the well of power within him, flexed his legs and launched after her. "Stop!" He yelled out to the petite woman.

His trajectory proved to be correct when he slammed into her, his hand snatching one of her wrists before it could fire off another blast. With his other hand he clenched his fist and called out. "Scatter!" The birds did as he commanded.

Izuku's sudden appearance and the sheer weight of him caught the woman by surprise causing them to plummet towards the ground. In an attempt to redirect them she tried to pull away from his grip, but found herself unable to. Izuku instead twisted them so when they landed, he hit feet first and caught her in his arms. Dust blew up from the impact point.

Once Izuku was sure she hadn't gotten hurt from their fall he unceremoniously dropped her and glared down at her. "Why did you attack us?"

"Huh?" The woman stared up at him in confusion from where she was sitting at his feet.

Footsteps brought his attention over to two men running towards them. One of them waving his arms above his head while screaming that what they had done was dangerous. The other stared emotionlessly at Izuku only to receive a sharp glare from the green-haired teen.

Izuku glared down at the woman at his feet again before walking over to the mangled corpse of his most recent acquisition. He picked it up gently to look it over. Its body had been ruptured in several places, its wings were missing more feathers than he cared to count, and its head had nearly been ripped off. He raised a hand to his right and in a few seconds a large white owl with one eye landed on the wrist bracer weight. He made eye contact with it for a moment. "Find a good place to bury her near her old nest." The owl gave no sign of acknowledgement but took the falcon from him in its claws and took to the sky again.

He waited until it passed behind the gym and out of sight before turning his attention to the trio once again. "I wasn't under the impression U.A. condoned attacking strangers, or are you just that stupid?"

Some part of him tried to argue that he might have reacted the same way if he had seen the situation, he was in. The largest part of him, the part that had already been angry when he started training, was downright boiling with fury at losing one of his tools.

"I'm confused." The violet-haired man that looked like he needed a nap said.

"Nejire was trying to help you, young man!" The tall muscular blond smiled despite Izuku's continuous glare. "That was quite a show you put on leaping after her like that!"

"Attack you? What do you mean? I attacked a bird? Was it a pigeon or was it a falcon? Maybe a swallow? I don't know my birds!" The blue haired girl, now named Nejire, looked confused as she rambled off question after question. "Takami! What kind of bird was that?"

Izuku's eye twitched as they all spoke at once. "Stupid might not be harsh enough." He growled under his breath. "I have no idea who you are or where you came from, but you shouldn't attack other students when they are training."

"You were being attacked, Nejire did what she had to do to protect you!" The large blonde struck a pose and pointed at Izuku. "Those birds came out of nowhere and started to attack you! You were doing good dodging, but we could see you weren't able to fight back, young Midoriya!"

Izuku did not like the blonde almost instantly. He had only heard one person call him by that name, which meant this blonde-haired person knew them. That also meant that they knew about him and his abilities, which made him even more mad. "So, her intent justifies her destroying one of my companions?" His voice dripped with enough venom to cause the blonde's smile to drop. "You killed one of my companions and now you're lecturing me that it was for my own good? Just what kind of sorry excuses of hero students are you?" They didn't need to know that the falcon was technically already dead and had just been momentarily reanimated.

Nejire paled and started to apologize. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was your friend! Wait… Why was it attacking you if it was your friend? Did you have a disagreement?"

Izuku let out a shuddering breath in an attempt to reign in his emotions. "We were training." He said through grit teeth. "My avian friend was doing what I had asked her to. She wasn't attacking me; we were testing my reaction times while exerting myself by running with weights on. But I get it, it's just a stupid bird, who cares if it dies, right? That what you were thinking?"

"Such a good training exercise!" The blonde continued, looking awed at Izuku. "But Nejire was only doing what she thought was right by trying to help you. We are sorry about your friend, but from our perspective it looked like you needed help."

"Well excuse me for being upset that I had to watch one of my companions die!" Nejire flinched back again at his cold tone.

"IZUKU MIDORIYA, PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE ENTRANCE OF THE GYM. YOU'RE WARD IS IN NEED OF DIRE ASSISTANCE. I REPEAT, IZUKU MIDORIYA REPORT TO THE ENTERANCE OF THE GYM." Izuku recognized the cheerful voice of Present Mic over the loudspeakers that were scattered across the campus.

"Shit. There goes my training." Izuku turned his back on the trio and left despite them calling after him. He didn't bother to deactivate the weights and threw himself into a sprint towards the building in question.

When he rounded the corner, he noticed several different people waiting for him. Toru, Jiro, Yaoyoruzu, Ashido, Hatsume, and Aizawa were standing in a circle. They all noticed him as soon as he came into view, most of the girls looking relieved to see him while Aizawa was glaring. "Not even a month and despite our assistance on bringing you here, you're already shirking your duties that you imposed on yourself." The man's usual drawl was replaced by contempt.

"What are you-?" Everything came back to Izuku. He had been called about his ward needing him. It had been well over twenty-four hours. "Fuck, Himiko…"

When the woman in question heard his voice, she looked up and rushed over to him and practically tackled him and if it wasn't for the weights on his legs, he was sure she would have knocked him over. She was nearly in tears and her labored breath caused concern to wash through him. "It's okay, Himiko. I'm sorry for running off before helping you, I should have known better."

"The voice is back." She whimpered against him. "Keeps telling me that you abandoned me too and when we couldn't find you…"

"This won't happen again; do you understand me?" Aizawa's hair was raised high in the air and he was glaring at Izuku still, his eyes burning with the activation of his quirk. "There's no telling what could happen if she relapsed without someone being around."

"Don't leave me Zuzu, please don't leave me." Himiko whispered against his hair, causing guilt to wash through him even deeper. "Not you too."

"Let's get you somewhere private so we can do this, okay?" Izuku ended up picking up the woman in his arms, one arm sliding under her knees while the other held her around the small of her back. "Hatsume, can you deactivate the weights? I can't reach the dials right now."

Hatsume came forward and deactivated them, but didn't take them off. "There you go, should be good now."

"Thank you Hatsume. And thank you to everyone else. Thank you for taking care of Himiko in my absence." He spoke solemnly. "Despite my earlier outburst you still helped her, so thank you."

Izuku quickly tried to think about what was close by that would give them privacy. The gym was bound to have plenty of people there and he wasn't keen on taking her into either of the changing rooms. The dorms were too far away for them to get there relatively quickly. He looked over at the main education building. Classes were over so if he took her up to the roof there shouldn't be anyone to come looking for them. With his mind made up he walked over to the side of the building, glad that it was right across from the gym. "Hold on." He warned Himiko and pooled as much of his energy into his legs as he could without having to worry about passing out. Squatting down he looked up and leapt straight up.

Aizawa had already departed and the five women could only look on in shock as Izuku leapt high into the air, kicked off an overhang, and landed on top of the four-story building with seemingly little effort. "Did he just…" The five looked over to see three people looking at where Izuku and Himiko had disappeared out of sight.

"Can I help you?" Yaoyoruzu stepped up, having composed herself the fastest of those currently present.

"That boy, could we ask you some things about him?" Nejire still looked abashed and off-put.

"Now might not be the best time if you want to talk to him." Yaoyoruzu continued. "But first, what business do you have with him?" She had noticed that the trio had come from where Izuku had appeared.

"Well you see…"

* * *

**[Dorm 1-A]**

Izuku touched down as gently as he could to prevent Himiko from being jostled too much. "Can you help me for a moment?" He asked gently, kneeling to the ground next to the door on the roof where there was a little shade. He pulled out one of the capsules and held it out to her. It was the size of her palm.

"Base of your neck, right?" Her voice was quiet and she took the capsule from him and placed it where she had done a few times in the past. Once it was in place, she pressed the button on the top and two needles popped out the side and stabbed into his skin. Izuku hissed for a moment and shuddered.

Once it was done and Izuku could breathe again he nodded his thanks and rolled up his left sleeve. Grabbing tightly around the appendage just above his elbow, he squeezed and slid his hand up, feeling the congealed blood in his arm being forced up until he thought there would be a decent amount in a single concentrated spot. "I can't explain how sorry I am, Himiko. I know how much it hurts you when the voices come back. I'll be better about this in the future." He slipped his hand through her hair to the back of her head and brought it down to his arm. "Take as much as you need." He whispered.

Himiko latched onto his arm hastily and wrapped herself around him, pushing his back up against the wall behind where he sat.

Izuku rubbed his fingers through her hair comfortingly as he whispered to her that he was there and that things would be okay.

Even after she had enough that the voice faded in her head, Himiko took more. This continued for an undiscernible amount of time until her body eventually sagged in relief and she let his cool presence calm her. "It was only one this time, maybe I'm getting better?" She asked hopefully. "Sounded like my dad this time though… Been a long time since I heard his voice…"

"Hopefully, but we can't know for sure. I'm not keen on testing that theory anytime soon." He rubbed her back gently with his now free hand to hold her close to him. "Why didn't you take one of your emergency vials? Was it not enough?"

Himiko was glad that her face was buried in his neck and he couldn't see her. "I've been out since before we moved in and I didn't want to worry you because things have been going so well."

Izuku chuckled lightly. "You're not a burden Himiko. I chose to help you. I could have left you on the street the day I met you, but you've been worth every headache that's come up. If we are going to work together through this, you have to tell me these things."

"But you're running out…" She weakly offered.

"Not anytime soon, but one day yeah." Izuku affirmed her fears. "I still have plenty in the rest of me, but we'll have to start drawing it out before you can have some. I'm sure you don't want to be biting me on my legs and I'm not keen on taking my pants off. I'd rather not test your theory about if appendages will grow back." That brought a small giggle out of the girl much to his joy and they both settled into a comfortable silence.

Himiko didn't leave his side for the rest of the day, even after Izuku decided to take the rest of the day off from his usual training and helping Hatsume in the support studio. He knew she needed the comfort of knowing he wouldn't leave her so he didn't mind. Not that he usually minded anyways, her presence was comforting in that he was helping someone.

All the while they were resting, he was thinking of ways that he would be able to replenish his blood supply. Just after the incident with the sludge villain David Shield had tried several things. They had tried to replace his heart and while his body hadn't rejected it, they found his healing wasn't as effective with a spare. When they had tried to do a blood infusion, his body had outright rejected it and it had burned it out of his veins, so that wouldn't work in the future. He needed to find a way for his body to reproduce its own supply.

They had even tried installing a pacemaker onto him, but that hadn't helped much. While it would have helped to regulate his heartbeat, it couldn't outright restart his heart on its own and the risks of having a direct link to his heart on the outside of his body had been too large to overlook so they had gone away from that plan. Plus, even if they could keep it running, if the device was destroyed, they had no idea about how his body would react to another failed heart. Izuku didn't suspect anything would change if that happened, but it did worry him that things could get worse unexpectedly.

Maybe he should bring it up with Hatsume, that girl always seemed to have boundless ideas for support items. Maybe she could come up with something to help him. As much as he wanted to contact David Shield for help on it, he knew the man was busy and probably wouldn't have the time to devote to a single person. The man had already done enough for him anyways, so it was best not to rouse the anger of the crazy scientist that probably knew more secrets about his body than Izuku himself did.

He was roused from his thoughts as he lay in his bed, Himiko curled into his side clenching his shirt tightly, when she started to whimper in her sleep. This happened more often than he was comfortable with. Which was why he was alright with her sleeping next to him on a regular basis. He reached around the woman with the arm she was lying her head on and gently rubbed her head, whispering that he was still there to comfort her.

She calmed down almost instantly and a soft smile tugged at the corners of her lips while she slept. She was mumbling in her sleep again. At least this time they seemed like pleasant sounds so he paid them no mind.

"Love you, Zuzu." He had to look at her for a long time to make sure she was still asleep. That had been a relatively recent outcome. On especially bad days he could hear her whispering such things to him.

It never failed to bring his thoughts to a halt when he heard her. He _knew_ it was because she saw him as her savior and that he would comfort her, but a small part of him would question how deep that love for him actually ran, since she never said anything about it when she was awake.

He grew introspective and thought about how he thought about her, again. He cared for her, he knew that much, but that was because of how devoted to him she was. Her devotion to him and their shared goal made her useful. It wasn't like with his mom, he had loved her with his entire being. This was nothing like that. He couldn't even say he would be sad if Himiko ended up leaving one day, it only made him madder. Mad at another person being taken from him, at another person being ripped from his clutches.

That burning anger always brought him back to Bakugo. Every time he thought about love it always brought him back to Bakugo. Brought back the fury that he felt for the blonde bastard that had taken the one person that had truly cared for him away.

The bastard had been avoiding him at all costs, even delaying his arrival to the dorms to get more time away from him. Maybe he'd have to have Himiko toy with him when he finally showed up. He needed to increase Bakugo's training anyways and it would be another way to make Himiko happy. She always enjoyed causing harm to Izuku's once tormentor.

After a glance at the clock he decided it was time to get started with dinner for everyone that had moved in so far. He gently woke the girl next to him and told her where he was going and convinced her to stay in the bed and that he would call her down when the food was ready. She had asked for curry and he had agreed instantly, knowing it was one of her favorite dishes. After the day she had, he felt it was his job to give her all the amenities that he could.

Once downstairs with his mom's cookbook he hit the intercom by the front door to make an all-call through the dorms. "Dinner will be ready in twenty." He flicked it off and went to work. He'd have to remember to thank Hatsume for that wonder. She had been ecstatic to install it for them after he promised to help her test her "babies".

* * *

**[Classroom for 1-A]**

The two weeks that passed up to their first real day at U.A. felt like forever to him. The girls that he had had the conflict with had apologized to him, but had decided to keep their distance from him for the time being. It was like they didn't know how to react to his revelation and were afraid that they would say something to hurt him again. That isn't to say that they were cold towards him, quite the opposite. They were very friendly with him, but their interactions never lasted. Izuku didn't push them and decided to let them approach him on their own. The only good thing to come from that had been when Himiko's relationship with the girls had grown exponentially. Besides Yaoyoruzu already being friends with Himiko, the other girls had latched onto Himiko almost like a lifeline. It brought a strange feeling that he couldn't place when he saw Himiko with more friends.

It made him want to scratch the feeling out of his brain. No matter how hard he tried to decipher the feeling, it was always an indiscernible sensation that tried to push him out of his comfort zone and he felt he would never understand it.

The biggest change to his day was he now almost wore Hatsume's weighted bracers whenever he wasn't doing anything important. A lot of things broke because he wasn't used to having so much weight on his arms and, when he forgot they were there, he would end up breaking things because the item couldn't hold so much concentrated weight in one spot. It had gotten to the point that Aizawa had told him not to bring them to class because he didn't want to deal with broken desks at Izuku's carelessness.

As he entered the classroom, at exactly thirty minutes before the bell would ring, he could only wonder about the four students besides Bakugo that were due to move into the dorms after the school day was over. Pulling out his notebook labeled **Support Items #2** he started refining his ideas for his classmates.

When the door opened, he locked eyes with the one person that he had been looking forward to seeing in person again. Katsuki Bakugo.

"Kaachan."

"…"

"How's your training going? I hope you haven't been slacking this last month in my absence." Izuku continued unconcerned that the boy wasn't talking back. "Because if it has, then you're going to make me do something drastic. How's your reaction timing?"

Bakugo glared at the green-haired teen. "Mom wants you and that psycho bitch to come over for dinner on Saturday."

"Call her that again and I'll stop holding her back." Izuku smiled gently, no real anger in his voice. He hummed at the thought of seeing Himiko going crazy with glee at the thought of harming Bakugo. It brought back that strange feeling again, but he pushed it away. "You didn't answer my question."

"The teachers won't stand for that; you wouldn't get away with it."

"You make it sound like I'd care they caught us." Izuku could see the sudden fear in Bakugo's eyes though the teen tried to hide it. Izuku relished in it despite how wrong he knew it was to take pleasure in the blonde's fear. "Besides, it's all in the name of training. No real harm meant." It was nice to be able to tease the blonde with more physical harm again.

Their discussion was cut short when other students started filing into the room, breaking off into their own groups to chat about what they were hoping to see during their first class. Bakugo quickly took the time to take up a seat as far from Izuku as possible.

"Hey, Jiro." Izuku waved the girl over when she entered.

"What's up Green?" The girl sat backwards in the chair in front of his desk.

"I never asked, how are you with close range fighting? Any official training?" He asked while flipping through his book looking for a certain design. When he didn't find it, he pulled out the first edition from his backpack and started to flip through that too.

"A little hand to hand, but nothing structured." She admitted. "My high school didn't have any clubs besides boxing and it didn't suit me very well, so I decided to wait until I got here to train with professionals."

"How about bladed weapons? Ever put any thought into it?" He finally found his page and turned it around to show her.

The teen looked down at the paper and, much to his amusement, used one of her jacks to trace over the design instead of her finger. _'I wonder if she realizes how cute that is?'_

Her blush told him he hadn't said it in his head like he meant it to be, but she didn't comment on it. "What's it do? I'm assuming you're showing me because its more than just a knife?"

Izuku pointed out a few things that he had designed. "Seven-inch straight blade sharpened on one side, dull on the other. It'd be made a high carbon metal to prevent it from breaking from vibrations though, and here…" He flipped to the next page to another angle of the design. "I've left a spot that you could plug your jack into it so you can use your quirk to vibrate the blade. With enough training and the right frequency, you could use it to cut through metal like butter."

The woman in front of him looked up at him quizzically. "Why do you make all of these? When the hell do you even have time to think of stuff like this? Anytime I see you, you're either nose deep in a book or you're off training."

Izuku shrugged his shoulders with a smile. "I'm not worth much more than a meat shield or if you need something punched really hard. You're much more versatile than I am with your quirk. Oh!" He snatched up his pencil and made a note off to the side and drew a crude addition to the blade's hand guard. "Maybe we could add a miniature amplifier in case those boots you requested for your costume are damaged… it wouldn't be able to handle nearly as much power as your boots with its limited size…"

"Dude that's so simple, but effective. How in the world did you think of something like this? I never thought about using vibrations to cut through things." Jiro poked on the page with her jack to emphasize her point.

"Actually, Himiko helped me come up with this."

"Really? That doesn't strike me as something she'd do."

Izuku scratched the back of his neck. "Maybe not directly, but she complains about people not looking deep enough in their training. That too many people focus on their quirks and don't have any kind of backup. When I've seen you training, I've only ever seen you focus on being flexible and quick on your feet. A bladed weapon would make up for your lack of physical strength."

Himiko appeared out of nowhere, sat down on the edge of the desk, and slapped her light blue knife down on the table. "Plus, knives are soooooo cool! And they can do so much! In battle you can disable your opponent without having to outright defeat them. Even Zuzu lost to me when we fought!"

Jiro dawned an unbelieving look and looked to Izuku for clarification. "She's… fast. Like unnaturally fast. Without being able to heal as fast as I do, I'd have been done in the first minute. She cut the tendons in my arms and legs so it didn't matter I could punch a hole through her chest. I couldn't touch her and she destroyed me." He admitted with a sigh.

"Cause I'm badass!"

Izuku looked up from his notes to see that they had drawn quite a bit of a crowd around his desk. "That's unbecoming of a student at this prestigious school!" Izuku growled at the sound of the voice, easily remembering it from the exams.

The same tall teen with blue hair stepped through the crowd and stood ramrod straight with a frown on his face. "Such delinquent behavior shall not be tolerated! Even bringing weapons to school!" He brought his hand down in a chopping motion to emphasize his point.

"Zuzu, can I?" Himiko asked innocently, her hand inching towards the knife.

Izuku gently covered her hand with his just as she reached the knife, preventing her from picking it up. "No stabbing our classmates, Himiko… not on the first day anyways."

"Awwww, that's no fun. What about Kaachan?" She asked sweetly.

"WHAT'D YOU CALL ME YOU PSYCHO BITCH?!"

Izuku pat her hand gently with a smile, ignoring the outburst. "You know the deal, not unless he does something to deserve it. Besides, you heard him! He volunteered for you to test his reflexes after class!"

Himiko slipped her knife away into a holster on her thigh with a giggle. "Oh, I can't wait!"

"Nothing permanent." Izuku warned her with a small smile. The blonde wrapped Izuku's head in a tight hug at that.

"I can't believe you would… YOU!" The blue haired teen pointed directly at Izuku. "I am Tenya Iida. During the exam you-"

"I'm not in the mood for this today. I get it, you were nervous and trying to get into my head. Just like then, I'm supposed to be here." Izuku stared blankly at the teen, flashing his student ID card.

"No! I only meant…" He bent at a quick ninety-degree angle in a bow to Izuku. "I underestimated your abilities during the exam and you even went as far to stand up to that zero pointer while that girl-"

"Jiro." Izuku supplied, gesturing to the girl that was still sitting in front of him. Jiro gave a small wave of acknowledgement.

"Ah, nice to meet you miss… But yes! I saw that you knew the true meaning of the exam and sacrificed yourself to save her! I had not expected that!" Iida nodded expectantly.

"I had no idea that was the case." Izuku shook his head. "Thought I had damned myself to failing the exam taking that thing on. But, my body just kind of moved. I wasn't the only one, Naked Wonder over there helped too, carried Jiro away and everything."

All eyes turned to Toru questioningly and the girl tried to sink into her seat in embarrassment. Iida nodded and turned back to Izuku. "If it wasn't for the exam, I would have been there with you to help. You set a good example for the rest of us."

Izuku's voice grew cold. "So, you'd only help when it was convenient? You're pathetic." More than a few jaws dropped at his statement. "If your convictions are so self-centered, you don't deserve to be here."

"If you're here to make friends, then you've come to the wrong place." A man was standing at the front desk with a tired look. Several looked at him in question, not even noticing the man had entered. "Everyone take your seats."

A flurry of movement ensued until everyone had chosen a seat. Izuku, having already taken a seat at the far back corner next to the windows, found himself sitting next to Toru with Himiko sitting in front of him. He figured that was by design so he could keep an eye on his friend, either that or she had merely wanted to be close by.

"My name is Shouta Aizawa and I will be your homeroom teacher for the duration of your time here at U.A. so long as you don't find yourself removed from our curriculum. We will expect the best out of you and in return we will make you strong enough to protect yourself and those around you." Aizawa's harsh eyes scanned the room, stopping to stare at a couple of select students that he thought would be easily intimidated.

"This is a little last minute, but take one of these and meet out at the track in ten minutes." Aizawa pulled a uniform from below the desk and dropped it in front of him.

"What about the entrance ceremony, sir?" Iida stood up from his desk with his hand raised high into the air.

"We don't have time for those worthless ceremonies. Here at U.A. we let our teachers have a lot of administrative freedom to decide how our classes will be held." Aizawa looked down at his phone. "Nine minutes left now."

* * *

**[U.A. Track]**

A few minutes later found everyone huddled together at the edge of the track behind the gym. Aizawa stood in front of them with a tablet and a set of supplies next to him. "Today we will be acquiring a baseline for how strong each of you are and how versatile your quirks are in a series of different tests. Today is the start of your hero program and like I said earlier, we expect the best out of each and every one of you. That being said, thanks to someone…" He stared directly at Izuku who looked back at the man with a bored expression. "We have twenty-one students in a class that only allows twenty so whoever scores the least, or I deem them not trying hard enough, will be immediately expelled from the program."

"That's not fair! We won our spots fair and square!" A small teen yelled. It surprised Izuku every time he saw the purple headed boy. Counting the purple balls that acted as his hair, Mineta stood barely three foot six (108cm). Izuku shrugged his shoulders, the other teen must have some case of dwarfism.

"Life isn't fair. Every day heroes put their lives on the line to save others. If you aren't even able to put your schooling on the line, then you don't have strong enough convictions to be here in the first place." Aizawa snapped down at Mineta. His eyes eventually looked over at Izuku. "Izuku Midoriya, you are the reason we have to have these restrictions on our first day, so you will lead off the tests. Come stand in the circle."

Izuku made his way through the group to stand in the middle of the circle, ignoring the whispers behind him.

"He's the reason? Was he the twenty-first person?"

"I knew something was wrong with him being here."

"No wonder he's been so nice, he must feel bad about taking someone's slot."

Aizawa seemed to revel in the whispers as he smiled. "During high school, what was your distance that you threw during the softball distance test?"

Izuku cocked his head to the side as he thought about it. "Just over 1km if I remember right."

Almost everyone stood in shock. Bakugo stomped forward and glared. "If you're gonna lie, at least make it believable. But you can't lie to me. You got that score in our first year of high school. Tell them your most recent score."

Izuku sighed and slumped his shoulders. "I didn't lie, he just asked what my score was in school… I did get that once…"

"Fine." Aizawa snapped out. "What was your _most recent_ distance."

Izuku shrugged his shoulders. "3.4km and some change."

"Without your quirk?" Aizawa asked incredulously.

"Don't have a quirk, you know that. You were the one that requested me in your class, the Principal was very excited to tell me that when he asked to watch me test my limits himself. Why are you pretending you don't know all of this already?" Izuku frowned. He dropped his voice so only Aizawa could hear him. "Are you trying to put me against them?"

Aizawa narrowed his eyes at the teen. "Well let's see how honest you are about your quirklessness. Throw the ball. You can do anything so long as you stay within the circle."

Izuku sighed and took the softball from Aizawa. Aizawa's hair stood on end and his eyes pierced into Izuku in response.

Izuku shrugged his shoulders and turned. Squaring his shoulders Izuku took a couple of steps back to the edge of the line. He cocked his arm back and could feel his muscles tighten in response. He took two quick steps forward and roared. A full second after the ball released from his hand a shockwave erupted, knocking down those standing closest to the circle.

All eyes widened and looked at Aizawa, who also stood in shock. "H-how…"

Aizawa looked down at his phone and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, the phone beeped and he turned it to the class in disbelief; 7.6km.

Izuku walked back to the class and chuckled quietly when Himiko leapt onto his back with a cheer. "I knew you were strong Zuzu, but hot damn!"

"It can't be… no one can be that strong without a quirk."

"He had to have cheated somehow!"

Toru stepped up next to Izuku and looked down at him. "If you could do that, why did you let the zero-pointer hit you? You could have obliterated the thing with that kind of strength."

Izuku shook his head. "Couldn't risk what it would do to my arm if I tried. I'm strong, but my bones still break rather easily. It was easier to endure it for the remaining time. What I just did, I pushed my muscles past their physical limits. Tore nearly every muscle up to my shoulder and I nearly dislocated my arm. Drains my stamina to an extreme amount trying to heal all the tears and breaks."

"Oooh me next! Me next!" Himiko jumped up and down excitedly. "I wanna see what I can do!"

Aizawa snapped out of his shock and glared. "You think this is fun? That this is a game?"

"Well, yeah!" Himiko didn't seem to catch onto the darkening expression on their teacher as she went on. "Shouldn't we be excited to see what we can do with our quirks?"

"She has a point." A redheaded mop of hair spoke off to the right of Izuku. _'Eijiro Kirishima.'_ His mind supplied to him helpfully.

"As long as we do our best, there's no reason we can't have fun with it!" Ashido took Himiko's hand in her own. "Let's have a competition! Just you and me, winner…" She tried to think of a good idea.

Himiko grinned and leaned in to whisper something into the pink skinned teens ear. Ashido blushed lilac and her eyes glazed over for a moment. "Deal!"

Toru put her invisible hand on top of their joined hands. "I'm in too!"

Aizawa saw that he had lost control of the class and sighed. "Let's get on with this. Our first test will be a fifty-yard dash."

The class went over in groups of two. Izuku watched critically as each of his classmates the short distance run went as he was expecting. The outliers in the test were Asui that used her frog-like legs to leap across the distance in large leaps to earn 4.65 seconds, Bakugo exploded his way to earn 3.8 seconds, and even Todoroki raced across the finish line on his by skating on his ice to a 4.5 second time. Iida, who he didn't remember seeing during the test, rolled up his pants to expose a set of exhaust ports at the back of his calves. Iida showed his prowess by racing across the finish line in 2.4 seconds.

When it finally came time for Izuku to step up he looked over to see Toga taking up her place next to him. They shared a grin. "You may be agile and have faster reflexes, but I'm faster in a straight line." Izuku challenged his friend.

"You're on, Zuzu! I'm gonna kick your ass!" Himiko lowered her center of gravity and stared ahead of her, bracing herself and tensing her legs as she took up a sprinters position.

"Midoriya." Aizawa brought Izuku's attention up. "If you're so confident, then I have a challenge for you."

Izuku nodded that he was listening.

"If you don't get first in at least half of the contests, you'll be the one to go home."

Izuku decided to rise to the challenge with a dark grin. "Deal, but if I win, you can't expel anyone."

Aizawa's eyes hardened and Izuku saw he was about to hit the buzzer. Izuku pulled from that feeling deep down in his stomach and felt his muscles tingle. The buzzer sounded and almost immediately the timer rang. Everyone turned to see Izuku bent over at the waist with his hands on his knees at the finish line, the timer next to him flashing. Izuku Midoriya had achieved 0.39 seconds. No one had even seen him move. A couple of seconds later Himiko raced across the finish line then stopped by his side. She herself had achieved a 3.5 second time.

"You okay, Zuzu?"

"Ye-yeah… That hurt a lot more than normal…" It didn't make sense to him; he didn't think he had pushed himself that far to use that much of his stamina. Maybe it had something to do with his rapidly diminishing blood supply. That was the only thing that possibly have made sense.

"Do you need a booster?" She asked quietly, rubbing his back.

"Nah, not yet. Nezu's only allowing me one a week. Says they cost a lot to make. Let's save it for later, I should be able to finish most of this off before I really need it." Just taxing himself on two of the tests had drained him this much, he needed to think of a solution to his diminishing blood dilemma, and fast.

"How in the hell can you run that fast!" Izuku looked up to another one of his blonde-haired classmates approaching him, except this one had a black lightning bolt colored into his hair. Kaminari claimed it was natural, but Izuku highly doubted it, nobody could have that perfect of a defect in their hair. Then again, maybe it was natural, nothing else about this world was natural.

"I can push my muscles past their physical limits at the cost of extra stamina." Izuku explained. "Like I said when I threw the softball. The only difference is it's harder to do with my legs and I can't sustain a speed like that for much farther than I already ran."

The next test was long jump. Izuku didn't overtax his legs on this one and merely jumped to the best that his legs could currently accomplish; 12 meters. He watched in awe as a brown-haired girl he hadn't met yet touched her fingers together and pushed off the ground, her body floating in a straight line across the ground. She eventually had to stop when she met a wall. Aizawa gave her a score of infinite because she would have continued if there were no obstacles. Asui also achieved a very respectable 17 meters. Bakugo, even with his explosions, couldn't stay aloft forever and landed at a safe 14 meters.

High jump followed and Izuku also took first place here. Even with Todoroki's ice propelling him twenty meters up, Izuku focused his energy into his legs and launched 41 meters straight up. The brown-haired girl Uraraka would have taken first place, but almost as soon as her feet left the ground, she turned green and looked like she was going to throw up before ending her own quirk. Izuku made a note in the back of his mind to look into that. He'd have to find a way to combat that glaring weakness.

Following that, Izuku took first in both the sit-up and push-up endurance tests when everyone else dropped out before him. He could have kept going but Aizawa said he would give him the first-place spot in both categories to get him to stop.

The timed ide-step test didn't go Izuku's way because he still wasn't great at rapid lateral movements. Bakugo used his explosions to propel himself back and forth rapidly. Iida twisted his legs to face inwards and used his exhaust quirk to propel himself back and forth as well. Everyone thought Mineta was going to take the competition by using his quirk to bounce off the balls that he could remove from his head. Apparently, they were sticky to anything except his own body.

Then Himiko took her place and Izuku could only watch in a mixture of pride and awe as his friend blurred in-between the two lines. The only indication she was making it to the lines was the automatic counter skyrocketing. When she was done Izuku cheered and Himiko took a victory pose before skipping over to high-five Ashido. Himiko was sweating and a little weak on her legs, but she was doing a good job hiding it.

When it back around to the softball throw, the outliers were once again Uraraka that, now that she wasn't using her quirk on herself, got a score of infinity once again because her ball left the atmosphere and didn't come back down, Bakugo released an explosion at the same time as his throw and achieved a 705 meter throw, Yaoyoruzu summoning a cannon that achieved her a score of of 2.1km.

Himiko stopped before entering the circle and jogged up to Izuku again. "Zuzu, baby, can I get a pick-me-up?" She flashed him her best set of puppy dog eyes, her voice overly sweet.

Izuku frowned and grew worried. "I don't know if that's for the best Himiko."

"Please Zuzu? It'll only be for a second."

Izuku shook his head. "Himiko… you almost died last time you tried to use your quirk on me. What happens if you don't turn back fast enough this time?"

Himiko pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Have a little faith in me, I've been practicing. I have a secret to show you, but I need a little okay?"

Izuku, still unsure, decided to trust his friend. He lifted his hand up and, despite his hesitance, could only smile when she cheered and snatched his hand.

"Any day now, Toga." Aizawa droned out. "You can play with your boyfriend later."

In a flash, Himiko had pulled her knife out and slashed deep into Izuku's hand. Those closest cried out in shock, but Izuku ignored them to watch Himiko closely. Himiko was blushing as she looked down at his hand and, before it could heal entirely, she brought it up to her lips. She didn't even hide the mostly silent moan and shiver that followed. Once his hand was healed, she licked her knife clean and stowed her knife.

Izuku blinked and cocked his head to the side. He didn't see her sheath on her anywhere. Where had she hidden it? Was this a new part of her quirk that he didn't know about? On second thought, maybe he didn't really want to know.

"Watch this, Zuzu!" Himiko took the ball away from Aizawa and stepped into the circle. She cocked back her right arm, made eye contact with him, and smiled. He could only watch in fear as her quirk activated and he watched as she changed. Only to blink when her quirk was isolated on her right arm, an exact replica of his own. It was far shorter than hers, but he could see the muscles moving under the skin. In an extremely acrobatic movement, she twisted and flipped through the air to add momentum to her throw and, just like him, a shockwave blasted from her.

Izuku barely saw the score pop up, 2.7km, before he was at her side and she was deactivating her quirk. Her right arm hung at her side and she fell to her knees with a grunt of pain. He touched the arm gently. "It's dislocated. Want me to put it back in?"

Himiko bit her lip and nodded, tensing her jaw tightly closed. Izuku counted down from three before a sickening pop and a muffled cry of pain rang out. "You okay now?" He asked quietly. She had helped him with enough dislocated shoulders that they were used to them by now, but this was the first time he had to help her with one. When she nodded, he smiled. "That was awesome, Himiko. Have you been working on that in secret?"

Himiko's smile shined brightly and she nodded rapidly. "Recovery Girl has been helping me out with it when you head out to work in the support studio with that big boobed mechanic lady." Izuku could only chuckle in response.

Next was a test of grip strength. Izuku easily tied for first with Himiko, due to her cloning his arm, when the handheld counter shattered in their grips.

The final test was to be an endurance test to see who could last the longest while running around the track. Izuku looked over at his teacher. "Can we use any part of our abilities? Even if they were pre-prepped?"

Aizawa shrugged his shoulders and said he would allow it since it was part of his repertoire. Izuku nodded his thanks and pulled on a little of the energy in his stomach, his hand raising up level with the ground. "Don't freak out, but I'm bringing a friend."

In the distance everyone watched as the largest dog they had ever seen came rumbling up to the group, sitting down in front of Izuku. The short green-haired teen pet his friend with a smile. The dog, even sitting, was head and shoulders taller than Izuku.

"You brought a dog?" Aizawa narrowed his eyes.

"You said we could use any of our abilities. This guy is one of mine." Izuku said cryptically.

"You can't use a dog to run your test, that's outside help."

"If I can prove this is one of my abilities can I use him?"

Aizawa sighed and nodded.

Izuku pulled on his energy again and a bird drifted over to them and dropped a newspaper into Izuku's hand. He held it out to the teacher. "Rex here is a Great Dane and Mastiff mix that was experimented on, that's why he is so big. He died two days ago from complications in the experiments. I brought him back."

"You brought a dog back to life?" The teacher looked at his student curiously.

"Kinda, not sure how it really works. You can ask Principal Nezu if you don't believe me, he was with me when I went to claim the body." Izuku nodded.

Just then Aizawa's phone rang and saw it was Nezu. After a very brief conversation the teacher hung up and sighed. "Your story checks out… How in the world is this possible?"

"I have no idea. Still learning the ins and outs of it." Izuku admitted. "But as long as it's in his realm of abilities I can make him do it." It was true that he didn't _truly_ know why he could bring things back for short periods of time, just that he knew he could do it.

The class looked on in abject horror at what they now knew was a dead dog walked up to the starting line with them. Izuku climbed up on its back and gently pat it on the top of its head.

The test was a breeze for Izuku as even Yaoyoruzu on her bicycle couldn't las as long as Izuku and his undead friend.

At the end of all the tests the group was once again circled around their teacher while he displayed the test results. Izuku saw that he was given first place and looked at Aizawa expectantly.

"As I said earlier, the individual that scored the lowest would be expelled. Minoru Mineta, that would be you." The boy's face fell and his shoulders slumped. "But, thanks to your fellow student Midoriya and his unnatural abilities, you are to remain in the class. This will be your last chance. If I see any of you are not meeting my expectations, then I will expel you on the spot." He locked eyes with the purple haired teen before looking each of his students in the eye to make sure they understood his position on the matter.

"Good, then that will be all. There are introductory packets in your homeroom. Get showered and changed, grab a packet, and go home. Tomorrow starts your real training."

* * *

**[Principal's Office]**

"You're absolutely sure that you tried to erase his quirk before he could activate it? Maybe he had activated it and it hadn't worn off before you had a chance to erase his exposure?" Nezu asked curiously.

"No chance, I watched as his strength magnified while under my own quirk." Aizawa clarified. "My quirk was active the whole time."

"Young Midoriya seems to be growing stranger as time goes on." Toshinori nodded solemnly. "We need more information. Did you find anything about his death?"

Nezu shook his head. "From the report it was deemed a suicide because the boy had been bullied for years. When his mother died as well, they didn't see a point in investigating further. By the time we got word of it after the villain incident and him, it was too late to find any evidence. The only cameras that were on the place of death were on a closed-circuit system and had been erased or taped over well before we had gotten there. If we had found out about the rebirth immediately upon his rebirth, maybe we would have found it, but as of now whatever happened… only Midoriya knows the true answers."

Nezu hummed to himself before locking eyes with the teacher across from him. "Why did you give him that challenge?"

Aizawa smirked uncharacteristically. "With how high the ceiling is on his quirk, I had to give him a reason to push himself, otherwise he would have breezed through those tests. Besides, his classmates need to see what they are up against. They needed to see how they stacked up to those their age."

Toshinori shook his head. "That young man… I don't think he needs a reason to prove himself. He always seems to do what's best for people, even if it isn't the best thing for him. The sludge villain incident, now with this Himiko Toga girl… If Toga falls back to her old ways, she'll take him down with her. He's putting a lot of faith into a stranger."

* * *

**[Boy's Locker Room]**

In the locker room Izuku was under a barrage of questions. "You can bring back the dead?"

"Well, not exactly. It's a temporary reanimation of the corpse at best. I have no idea if they have any memories or if they are merely doing my will." Izuku explained.

"Can you bring back people?" The voice sounded almost hopeful.

"No clue, and I don't want to know." Izuku shook his head. It wasn't that big of a lie. He did want to know, but he didn't want to test it in case something went wrong. "It wouldn't last anyways, its temporary and dependent on how much energy I put into the corpse. The animal has to be recently dead, less than a full day. Anything more than that and it doesn't work anymore."

"That's… so fucking manly!" Kirishima boasted loudly.

"Midoriya." Izuku turned to look at Mineta. "Thank you for today, I know you weren't doing it specifically for me, but you saved me. Let me help you out, which girl are you interested in? I'll tell you everything I know about them and I'll help set you up on a date!"

* * *

**[Girl's Locker Room]**

"Shhh, the guys are talking about us!" Jiro whisper shouted and plugged her jack into the wall in-between the two locker rooms.

"It feels wrong to listen in on their conversations." Yaoyoruzu furrowed her brow, but that didn't stop her from getting closer to the earphone jack teen.

Jiro plugged her other jack into her phone and put it on speaker so everyone could hear what she could.

* * *

**[Boy's Locker Room]**

Izuku glared down at the other boy. "None."

"Don't be that way! I can help you, what's your type? Maybe you're after Yaoyoruzu's huge tits, Uraraka's aren't anything to shake your head at either with that hourglass figure, or maybe Ashido's sexy and exotic curves, or do you prefer Asui's long legs and bubble butt?" The boy was either unaware of, or didn't care about the menacing aura that was surrounding his savior's form. It was enough that Bakugo had paled, remembering coming face to face with Izuku when he was this mad in the past.

"Shut up, Mineta." Izuku warned him, his voice a growl now.

Mineta either didn't hear him, or he was simply too lost in his own perverted thoughts to stop. "Maybe you're into Jiro's compact and tight body, the sexy surprise that is Hagakure's hidden body, or is it that Toga-"

Izuku had heard enough and his hand shot out like a viper.

* * *

**[Girl's Locker Room]**

None of the girls needed the phone to hear the blood curdling scream followed by several sounds of something slamming around followed by a screech of metal.

"What the fuck…" Jiro whispered in horror.

"That's Zuzu, he hates perverts." Himiko grinned darkly as she dried her hair off from her shower.

* * *

**[Boy's Locker Room]**

Izuku snarled at the shaking form of Mineta as he pulled the door off of the locker that was just behind the boy. He had initially tried to grab him, but the boy had been too slippery so he had resorted to destroying the ground where Mineta had previously been before cornering him next to some lockers.

"I'm going to say this one time." His voice sent shivers through all that heard it at how downright evil it sounded. "Those girls are not here for your sick pleasure. I can't stop you from looking at them, but you better not let me hear you saying anything perverted about them around me."

Mineta whimpered as Izuku leaned in close, looking at the boy through the grate in the door. "Any of those girls over there could absolutely destroy your pathetic ass without the use of their quirks, but they don't deserve to hear any of the shit spewing out of your mouth. They have worked hard enough to get here. Don't humiliate yourself and them by trying to objectify their bodies."

Izuku put a hand on top of the locker and, in a show of strength, began to crush it in his hand. "Do you understand me?" The boy in question shook uncontrollably. "I asked you a question."

Mineta nodded rapidly, not trusting his voice.

Izuku didn't bother showering and instead pulled on his school uniform. On his way out he stopped by Bakugo without looking at him. "You get a pass on training today because I don't know if I could actually stop myself from killing you right now." He whispered so just the blonde could hear him. After he said his piece, he shoved his way out the door, slamming it shut behind him. At least he hadn't physically hurt the little pervert, that probably wouldn't have turned out well for Izuku.

"Sh-should we get him out of here?" Kirishima asked the silent room, but no one moved to help the boy shivering in the corner and instead went about getting changed robotically.

_'Midoriya's darkness is intoxicating.'_ An avian featured teen looked at the aftermath of Izuku's rage. _'Dark Shadow, I feel we have found a fellow warrior that fights from the darkness.'_

Dark shadow slipped out Tokoyami's back and cackled. "That boy has enough darkness inside him to be one of us! He has enough within him to be a Lesser Oni! Boy, you have to befriend him!"

* * *

**[Girl's Locker Room]**

Himiko had to hold back a moan as a shiver rolled down her spine. "If only Zuzu had the body to back up his attitude, he'd be the perfect guy!"

"Himiko! Now isn't the time to be fawning over a boy! It sounds like he hurt Mineta!" Yaoyoruzu reprimanded her friend, but she couldn't fight the blush that adorned her cheeks.

"Little pervert deserved it." Toru stomped her foot indignantly.

Jiro unplugged her jacks and rushed into the showers with her towel and shower caddy. She needed a cold shower, and she needed it now. That had been the first time she had a boy stick up for her when she could hear it.

"How can cute little Midoriya have that much anger?" Uraraka stared at the wall between the two changing rooms. In truth it wasn't what Izuku had said, but how he had said it that Uraraka couldn't help but feel slightly afraid.

If Ashido hadn't already known that Izuku didn't want a relationship, she might have taken the initiative and asked him out right there. She couldn't do that though, she still needed to make it up to him for having pushed him to relive his issues. Still, it was a huge boon to know that he would stand up to the little pervert.

Himiko's phone buzzed a few minutes later. "Does anyone wanna join me to put Rex to rest? Zuzu says it's time to let the big guy pass on." Himiko would never admit it, but she liked the big dog. It was just so fluffy!

"He's gonna put him to rest?" Toru asked sadly. "Does he do that often?"

Himiko nodded. "Everything that he brings back, he finds a way to honor them and put them to rest. Told me that even in the beginning when he learned what he could do, he even gave the rodents he practiced on a proper sendoff. Something about thanking them for helping him in his journey or something like that."

"That's… oddly sweet after what we just heard him threaten to do to the pervert." Jiro was coming back to get dressed how.

"If they don't find the pervert by dinner, I'll let Aizawa know where to find him." Ashido offered with a noncommittal shrug of her shoulders.

* * *

Later that night Izuku was standing in the on a hilltop with a gaggle of people behind him. Rex was sitting patiently in the hole that had been dug for him. Izuku gave a small word of thanks to the large dog and wished him a wonderful afterlife. Izuku reached out and touched the top of the dog's head and pulled his energy out of the dog. He waited for a few moments and started to fill in the hole. His classmates that had joined him stepped up and helped where they could. Yaoyoruzu, at Izuku's request, made a simple headstone with no name or information on it.

* * *

**AN: So the big 3 have been introduced, and not pleasantly in Izuku's eyes. Will this change things for the future? Himiko is certainly attached now and we've seen where her insecurities lie, is this a nod at something that might happen in the future, or is this a result of his blood changing her? Maybe it's as simple as she's comfortable around him, you'll just have to wait and see! Before people say anything about Izuku's personality being inconsistent and changing every chapter, that's by design! I'm writing it that way ON PURPOSE! It has a purpose to it and it'll come to light soon.**


	6. Experiments

**Chapter 6: Experiments  
**

**AN: ****I've been gone for a while. I'm not going to bother giving excuses or reasons, so here's the next chapter!**

* * *

**[Design Studio]**

Izuku had foregone his morning workout for something he felt warranted much more of his attention. A feeling in the back of his mind was telling him he needed to visit his inventor friend. That was what brought him to where he currently stood, in front of a messy looking pink-haired girl that had tears in her clothes from subsequent mishaps during her invention process. She was lying face down, half strewn across her workstation.

He was surprised that Power Loader had let it get this bad in the first place. Then again, with how little Hatsume actually listened, there was a good chance she had just ignored his instructions in the first place. Was this what his subconscious had been telling him about? That Hatsume had passed out again at her work station? That wasn't new.

"Hatsume."

No response, if anything the girl snored louder.

"Hatsume, wake up!"

Movement at last… And she rolled over to look away from him, but he could see the small smile quirking the corners of her lips. His eye twitched in retaliation. With a quick plan of action, he smirked. Moving slowly, Izuku ran his hand up her back between her shoulders and up her neck, ignoring the shiver that coursed through her. His hand continued its trail around to her front with Mei sliding her body in a way that gave him more access to her front. She moved just enough and her hand loosened its hold on the object in her hand.

Izuku saw his chance and snatched the small metal object with his free hand, taking a couple rapid steps back at her indignant squawk. Mei leapt out of her seat and rounded on him, reaching out for the baby he held out of her reach while he left a hand pressed to her chest to hold her at bay.

"No fair! That was cheating!" Mei whined while she childishly tried to reach for what he had stolen. She eventually stopped reaching and folded her arms across her chest, grumbling about green-haired teases.

Izuku couldn't help but smile slightly at the ever-energetic maniac in front of him. Despite his misgivings about relationships or anything sexual in nature that involved him, she had somehow gotten through his shell. She wasn't dumb, far from it in fact if her inventions were anything to go by. She had quickly picked up on his discomfort at her not-so-subtle flirting and touching, then it hadn't been but a few moments before she put the whole thing together about his lack of physical reaction to her.

Now, there was almost a comfortable amount of teasing. There were tantalizing flashes of skin, but he honestly didn't know if they were on purpose or merely from her being absent minded in whatever project she was working on at the time. She would lean over his shoulder while he drew up one of their designs, pressing her large chest into his back, pointing out inconsistencies or features that would be more of a detriment than helpful. Her shirt would offer too much cleavage at times, and the off chances that she wore her skirt over her usual coveralls would leave him with flashes of her undergarments.

Oddly, he wasn't nearly as annoyed as he suspected he should have been. Maybe it was because whenever he asked her to stop, she would. For a time. Or, more likely, it was that she was actually trying to help him remedy his situation.

"What are we working on?" He asked looking over the shiny metal object. "What's kept you here overnight… again?" He rolled the object around in his hand and looked it over critically. There were tubes sticking out of it and the shape was too familiar to be a coincidence. "Did you make another artificial heart?" He accused her with a light glare.

Mei snatched it out of his hands. "I learned it wouldn't work the first time, thank you very much!" She snapped. "We learned when your heart tried to regrow over the last one we put in you." Mei bent over at the waist and dug through a box that was under her table, giving him time to notice that she was indeed in one of her skirts again and it had burn marks and light tears in it like her top did. She must have been experimenting pretty hard again if she was like this.

Mei snapped back upright again with a triumphant cry, holding another object in her hand. She put the two inventions together, and after a few minutes of grunting and fiddling around, showed him the finished copy. It looked exactly like the last heart she had put in his chest. The one that hadn't worked. "Tada!"

"Ummm… What exactly am I looking at? This looks exactly like what we tried before." Izuku asked in exasperation.

"You have no imagination!" Mei threw her hands in the air. "This isn't to REPLACE your heart, it's to make your heart pump!"

"You're going to have to explain that better, Mei."

Mei grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him over, shoving him down into the seat she had been sleeping in. She set the piece down on the table and drug over the plans she had drawn up on it. She leaned over his shoulder and started to point out her points. Izuku listened intently, and ever so slightly in awe of what she was claiming her new invention was capable of.

"Mei…"

"Shut up and get out, I'm not done with it yet. You can thank me after we finish and get it working." Mei waved him off as she usually did whenever he grew thankful for her help.

Izuku didn't leave just yet and instead stood up to face her. "I mean it, Mei. Besides the obvious things this might fix, from what David has let on, this could fix a lot more than we know." He said sincerely.

It was Mei's turn to smile, but hers was enough to send a shiver down his spine. If he could have blushed, he was sure that he would resemble Kirishima's hair. He opened his mouth to continue but she silenced him by raising a finger. "It can wait until after we fix this. Then you can find a way to thank me properly." She didn't wait any longer before shoving him out the doors again.

* * *

**[1-A Classroom]**

Izuku's day only seemed to get better from there. He was sitting in the homeroom awaiting the first class to start while reading the news on his phone, ignoring most of the discussions around him until he received a text from Mount Lady. He stood up, grabbed Himiko's hand and dragged her out the door despite her complaints.

"Where are we going, Zuzu?" She asked while as he drug her outside and behind the main building where he knew they wouldn't be interrupted. He handed her his phone and let her read through the messages.

Himiko was silent as she went through everything, scrolling back several weeks' worth of messages, her brow furrowing more and more as she kept reading. He didn't know how she was going to react, but it was something he felt he needed to do for his friend.

After they had moved into the dorms, she had told him a little about how people had reacted to her quirk, but refused to talk about her home life. More than a little curious about her parents and why they had let her stay out on the streets, he had initially gone to find them to give them a piece of his mind, and maybe scare them a little bit. He hadn't planned on finding out that they hadn't just kicked her out, but sold her away when she turned twelve.

Izuku's temper had been short for that entire week after he found out, but he hadn't told Himiko about his discoveries. He had brought it up with Mount Lady and Kamui Woods once he had an idea about what had really happened between Himiko and her parents. They had jumped on the chance to help the girl get closure, even if she didn't know about it. The two heroes had quickly contacted their friends in a local police department and had found a lack of a missing persons record on Himiko, their sudden increase in wealth, Himiko's medical records from before her disappearance. Everything had fallen into place quickly afterwards.

After she had read through everything, she looked back up at him, her emotions rapidly changing across her face. First confusion, then disbelief, followed by anger, and finally when she met his eyes, he couldn't quite read her expression. "You had them arrested?"

Izuku shrugged his shoulders and gave her a weak smile, still not sure what she was thinking. "I couldn't leave them be after I found out what happened and it'd be suspicious if they turned up missing themselves after you suddenly came clean." He explained. Truthfully, he hadn't even thought about killing them, but Himiko didn't need to know that.

"That wasn't for you to decide!" Himiko shouted, shoving his phone into his chest. "You should have just left them be!" There were tears in her eyes now and she was clearly getting more emotional as time went by.

Izuku frowned and shoved his phone into his pocket. "I had to, Himiko. You had years to do something about it, and once I found out… I couldn't just LET them get away with it." He stepped forward and grabbed her shoulders. "They deserve everything that's happening to them. Everything has to be on the straight and narrow here, so it will all stick to them." He explained while holding her by her shoulders and looking into her eyes.

"They're still my parents!" She cried out, tears leaking from her eyes. "Despite what they did, they are still my parents!"

Izuku pulled her into a hug and tightly wrapped his arms around her. "They don't deserve to be your parents after what they did to you. They didn't care about what happens to you, but I do. I couldn't let them just get away with all of this."

Himiko wrapped her arms around him in return, her fingers digging deep into his shoulders, her nails nearly piercing into him with how tight she held him. "I can't do it." She offered weakly. "I can't face them after all this time."

Izuku smiled gently and rubbed her back. "You'll never have to deal with them, then. We can work something out so you never have to be in the same room and you can give your testimony away from them. You don't have to worry. You have all of us now to help get you through this. You'll never be alone again, Himiko. Not if I have anything to say about it."

Even after the bell rang, Izuku continued to hold onto his friend until she had time to calm down and eventually pulled away from him, her makeup running down her cheeks from her tears. Izuku used his jacket sleeve to clean her up the best that he could, making her chuckle weakly at his attempts. They shared a brief smile, and after a quick stop at the bathroom so she could wash her face, headed back to class.

"You're late." Aizawa droned out, glaring at the two as they stepped through the door. His eyes, as well as the rest of the class, took in Himiko's red and puffy eyes and it was clear that she had been crying.

"Sorry, teach!" Himiko skipped into the room with more exuberance than her appearance would let on. "Zuzu gave me some interesting news about my parents that couldn't wait." She skipped over to her seat and all but jumped into it.

Aizawa sighed and shook his head. "Midoriya, just take your seat so we can begin." Izuku nodded and took his seat behind Himiko, noticing the curious looks from those that sat near them but ignoring them. Aizawa sighed and went on with the class, explaining that for the next two days they would be meeting all the other teachers that taught the other courses and that at the end of the week they would have actual combat training.

Following his announcement, Present Mic arrived and proceeded to lead them through a, in Izuku's opinion, rather boring English class. Izuku knew that despite being in the hero course, they still had to adhere to regulations to obtain a degree. They wouldn't just be learning how to be a hero, but would be getting a well-rounded education while in university. Izuku only half listened while taking notes on the lesson.

* * *

Lunch came around relatively fast and Izuku watched as Himiko was dragged off by most of the girls in class to ask about what had happened at the beginning of class. Once at the lunch room, Izuku wondered idly if Mei had even bothered with lunch. He knew she didn't eat breakfast simply because she had been in the lab since she had woken up. He fired off a text to his inventor friend and she responded that she had planned to skip lunch, but would come up and join his class because she needed to talk with his invisible classmate.

He was sitting alone at a table when Todoroki sat across with him, Kirishima and Kaminari sitting down as well. "Dude, I think you broke Mineta yesterday." Kaminari chuckled and pointed off to the side of the room.

Izuku looked over at the short boy and let out a slow sigh. The boy was eating at an extremely slow and robotic pace. "Yeah, I'll have to apologize for that. He just pissed me off, ya know? I've gotten to know the girls pretty well already and I know they wouldn't have liked being talked about like that."

Kaminari let out a bark of a laugh. "He kinda needed it, perving out like that on the first day. I talked to Jiro and Yaoyoruzu afterwards and it turns out they were listening. They would've done something if you hadn't been the one."

"Hell, man! You even scared me there!" Kirishima laughed. "Gotta say, despite your size, you pack more of a punch than any of us! And those animals, that's manly as hell!" He thrust a fist into the air at that.

Izuku chuckled to himself and waved his hand in front of him. "It's not that big of a deal, I just use what's available to me at the time." He continued to wave off the redhead's gushing praise.

A tray of food stacked high slammed down next to him and Mei sat down without another word, digging into what was in front of her. Izuku laughed at the way she was eating, almost doubling over when she fought against the will to breathe to force more down her throat. Eventually she slowed down enough to finally talk. "Izuku, I finished up what's her name's designs and I think I figured out how we can get them to work, but you need to send her down to the studio later. We have some tests to run!" She spoke with her mouth half full of food.

"Who is this Midoriya?" Todoroki spoke up for the first time.

"Mei Hatsume, at your service!" Mei waved with a smile. "I'm in my second year of the Support Course, but more specifically I'm Izuku's personal designer!" She wrapped herself around Izuku's arm with an even brighter smile.

"Arg! You already have Toga hanging off of you and now you have this buxom babe?!" Kaminari complained, lying himself down on the table.

"Which one is he again?" Mei asked cocking her head to the side.

"Kaminari, he's the one that controls electricity." Izuku supplied.

Mei put a finger to her chin to think. "Hmmm…. I don't remember you bringing him up." She ignored the blonde's exasperated crying. "Did we invent anything for him yet?"

"We drew up plans for that taser gun, but we haven't actually started development yet." Izuku offered, much to the blonde's surprise. "We haven't been able to figure out what to make the coils out of just yet. At the voltage he's able to output his electricity, most of what we can use will melt upon impact."

Kaminari raised his hand to point at himself. "For me?" A smile blossomed on his face. "That's awesome! And if it helps, as long as I have a focus point, I can control the voltage I output. It's only when it's uncontrolled that I can't direct it entirely."

Mei hummed and leaned forward on the table, pushing her nearly empty tray out of the way. "So if I give you a point between leads, could you direct your quirk between the two or do you need to have direct contact with what you're aiming for?"

Kaminari looked dumbfounded for a few seconds. "I wouldn't know, I'd need to try. That's why I'm here. To learn how to better use my quirk to help people!"

"Then we can test it during combat training." Izuku offered with a nod. "That way you can test your real capabilities in an actual battle to see what your reaction is and you can work from there."

Mei and Izuku turned in towards one another and started to discuss possible ways to test the electric user's quirk. The rest at the table sighed once Izuku got into it and Mei seemed to have joined in on his mumbling, both nodding as they traded ideas back and forth rapidly.

"Hey! What about me?" Kirishima leaned across the table excitedly. "What'd ya build for me? Huh? Huh?"

Izuku chuckled weakly and rubbed the back of his head. "I haven't gotten around to everyone just yet. Some people are easier to develop for. I don't have anything for quite a few people in class yet, but I'm sure I'll have something down in a few weeks. If any of you come up with something you want, though, make sure you bring it up and I'll help you design it!"

"That's quite impressive, Midoriya." Izuku spun to his left to see Tokoyami had taken a seat next to him recently. He hadn't even seen the avian man sit down. Noticing his classmate's confusion, Tokoyami nodded to him and explained. "I sat down when Miss Hatsume joined you."

Izuku hummed and nodded back. "I must have been too engrossed with what was going on, sorry about that. You snuck up on me like some kind of ninja." He admitted.

The six of them continued with idle conversation for a few more minutes until Kirishima decided to ask what had been on his mind for most of the morning. "What happened between you and Toga this morning? She looked alright, and I don't think you're the type of guy to make a girl cry for no reason."

Mei perked up, not having heard about this at all and Izuku tended to tell her almost everything that was on his mind when they worked together. She adopted a teasing smile. "Did you break her heart by telling her you'd finally decided on a real woman?"

Izuku groaned, knowing if he played into the woman's hand in any manner, he wouldn't hear the end of it for the rest of the day. "I had her parents arrested." He said bluntly, his face falling into a scowl. "They are despicable people and they pushed Himiko down a path that almost destroyed her. If I hadn't met her when I did, I'm pretty sure she'd be dead by the end of the year." His voice had dropped to a growl and he could feel his nails digging into his palms from how tight he was clenching his fists.

Mei's playful demeanor fell and nearly everyone at the table looked sad, casting quick glances over at the group of girls from their class. Izuku went on once he had better control of his emotions, shaking out his hands while they healed. "I got notified just before class started and didn't feel like I should wait to tell her. Needless to say, she got pretty emotional."

Kaminari scratched the side of his neck anxiously. "I don't think any of us could have guessed something like that. If you guys need anything, you'll say something won't you?"

"Yeah, come to us if you guys need support. We may not know one another too well just yet, but if we're going to be classmates for the next three years, we might as well start somewhere." Kirishima nodded, adding in his opinion.

"Speaking of supporting your friends, where is your invisible girl?" Mei squinted over at the group of girls a few tables away.

"Mei… She's the invisible one." Izuku deadpanned. "You see the pair of floating clothes? That's her and I'll bring her by after class if you'll have time."

The pink haired woman nodded enthusiastically, finally seeing the other female in question. "The sooner the better, preferably by Thursday so we have time to put our research into practice before your practical hero training."

"How did you know about that?" Kirishima asked curiously.

"I'm in the second-year support class, it's standard to have the first practical class at the end of the first week. Even if I wasn't privy to that information, I'm Izuku's personal support partner and I know he needs his hero costume ready by start of class on Friday." Mei offered, waving the question off.

"Did you get the gauntlets fixed?" Izuku asked.

"I have the prototype made up, but we're still waiting on approval for stronger materials. Steel and ballistics gel aren't going to cut it at this rate." Mei didn't look too pleased about her own declaration. "I swear, those guys they have in charge of requisitions don't actually care if we have the supplies we actually need or not. It's all about where they can save money." When she started to pout, Izuku couldn't help but laugh.

The rest of the school day went by without much fanfare. Even after class when Izuku had convinced Toru to head down to the Support Studio with him, he hadn't spent much time there. As soon as they had shown up, Mei had kicked him out and gone to work with a timid and nervous Toru. When he had finally left the room, Mei had a measuring tape wrapped around Toru's chest while asking questions rapid fire.

* * *

Toru wasn't able to focus for the entire day following her experiments with Mei. They had been up late into the night while Mei ran through the plans for her and, after getting her measurements through a very uncomfortable method that involved the pink haired inventor running her hands all over the redhead's body, they had decided on a color scheme. When they were done, it was nearing midnight and she had barely gotten enough sleep to hold a rational thought.

So, when Izuku had pulled her aside after breakfast and abashedly agreed give her the full body portrait she had asked for, she hadn't fully realized what he was saying until midway through their first lesson. Needless to say, all brain activity for the rest of the day was put on hold so she could mentally prepare herself for what was to come.

She had toyed with the idea of telling him that she wanted to postpone their plans so she could really think about it again, but knew that this was going to be the only way she would REALLY be able to see herself. Before she knew it, after a quick class-wide dinner cooked by Izuku and Iida, Izuku pulled her away from the group.

When the time actually came, Izuku had sat her down in her room and fully explained that he had agreed for two reasons. First was that he wouldn't actually see her naked. He had seen her hesitation and apprehension when she had asked him the first time, so he had started to think of a way to get around it so she wouldn't think he was a pervert or that he was going to do anything with the information at what she looked like.

Second, it was a way to test a theory of his about her quirk. He had then pulled out a camera and fired off a quick text. He explained that he understood her being uncomfortable showing off her body, but that no one other than her, him, and his friend he had texted, would ever know about it or what she looked like without her permission.

Things suddenly clicked for the redhead when Himiko slipped into her room without even knocking. Izuku quickly gave Toru the camera and a spare memory card, telling her that when she was done to keep the memory card and just give Himiko the camera to bring back to him. Then, he had simply left with a small smile.

Toru felt lucky that Himiko didn't feel ashamed at all and had taken the reigns and quickly took the lead, explaining how her quirk should work just fine because she could take on the appearance of people, up to and including changing her size, weight, bone structure, and even voice. A nearly flawless recreation.

The first picture had been nerve wracking, but Toru had never felt more ecstatic or happier that she finally had tangible proof of what she looked like, right down to the birthmark on the inside of her right knee that she never would have known about without Izuku and Himiko's help.

Confidence surged after the first couple of pictures and Toru had started throwing outfits at her doppelganger, using her friend as a living dress up doll. An hour turned into three before both were too exhausted to try any other outfits.

So, as scary as everything had seemed like it was going to be at first, turned out to be one of her most cherished memories. That fear came back with a vengeance when Himiko said it was time for payment. Turns out, Himiko wasn't talking about money. Before Toru could think to respond or protest, Himiko had grabbed the invisible redhead and kissed her before transforming back, got redressed, then left.

After she had gotten control over her emotions again, Toru sent both Himiko her thanks in a text and asked her not to kiss her again while shaped as herself. Immediately after, she downloaded the pictures to her computer and ran over to her best friend's room and rudely dragged the pink woman out of her bed half dressed and showed her the pictures.

* * *

Himiko had never felt so exceedingly relieved in her life. While Monday had been emotionally trying while she had to come to terms with her parents being put away for what they had done to her, the following two days had been nothing short of amazing for her mental health. Not only had Izuku proved that he was willing to do anything for her, the other women in her class had shown her through their words and actions that they cared about her too.

Then, the fun with Toru? That had been a brand-new experience, but a most welcome one. She knew she didn't have too many friends and she wanted to do everything she could to make those few friends happy and comfortable. The added teasing material she had on Toru helped plenty, seeing as the only complaint she had gotten from the redhead was that Toru was upset about being made to kiss herself, not that Himiko had kissed her at all. She wondered how many innuendos she could slip out before she could break Mineta's conviction to abstain from perversion.

She knew, deep down, that none of these people would ever have accepted her without him having done what he had. So, she vowed to herself that she would do what she could to help him with his plans for the future, not that he shared much to begin with. The only thing that she knew, even without him telling her, was that hurting Bakugo was a priority.

Thursday however had proven much different. She had been rudely awoken from her slumber with Izuku when he had been dragged out of the bed and out of the room. She figured that she would end up catching him in class, and now that her sleep was thoroughly ruined, she decided to get up and start her day. She trudged down to her room, grabbed her workout clothes, then broke into her workout buddy's room and woke her up by crawling into bed with her.

The black-haired beauty nearly jumped out of her skin and promptly fell out of the luxurious bed, blushing furiously when she came to realize who had joined her in the bed at such an early hour. A few teasing remarks from the blonde got her moving though and after a quick breakfast and a rigorous workout, they showered and headed off to class.

Class started and she found herself turned around in her seat, glaring at the empty desk behind her. It seemed whatever had him occupied hadn't allowed for him to come to class yet. She took out the spare vial of blood that she always kept on her for emergencies, especially after their last scare, and quickly downed the gelatinous concoction with a grimace. It was warm, and had it been anyone else's blood she wouldn't have thought anything of it. But it wasn't anyone else's blood, it was her Zuzu's blood. Coming straight from him it was always ice cold and sent shivers down her throat. The warm blood nearly revolted inside her as if it knew what she was thinking.

Aizawa hadn't seemed to care that Izuku was gone and had led them through their lesson until lunch came and had gone. Her irritation had skyrocketed during the second half of the day and she had decided to take that irritation out on Bakugo. Though he was sitting nearly across the room from her, she had taken it upon herself to fire spit balls at him whenever the teacher had their back turned.

Her fellow blonde had not taken it well, though after his initial emotional outburst he had taken to trying to ignore her. Many that had seen the childish attacks had chuckled about it, but had been slightly confused when Bakugo refused to fight back.

After class she had gone up to Aizawa and asked about where her friend was. The teacher had actually sneered at her and told her that Izuku would be back by morning. She wanted to push for more, but knew that he wasn't going to be of any help. A quick trip to the Support Studio proved that Hatsume had been missing the whole day as well, though Power Loader didn't know where she was and had assumed that she was taking the day off as she had done so many times in the past.

As night came, she found herself alone in his room well after the sun had set and decided to go snooping around in his room to ease her growing fear. That fear only further solidified in her that the green-haired teen held a much larger part of her life than she was comfortable with. She already knew that he was responsible for the healthy recuperation of her psyche, but hadn't known it would put that much of a damper on her wellbeing to have him seemingly disappear for a single day.

He had all the common things that he had back when she had gone snooping the first time, not that he had much around the room anyways. What really got her attention was a flash drive that she found stashed away in his closet in a box with a bunch of scientific looking papers and once she plugged it in, had a password lock on it. Her first attempt at guessing the password had brought up a prompt saying she had two more chances before the content would be deleted. She guessed one more time before deciding that she wouldn't be able to get it and he might be mad that she had gotten whatever he was hiding deleted. She briefly tried to find the password written down in all the paperwork in the box, but she didn't understand most of what it was. She put it back where she had found it, but made sure to remember to ask him about it. After she interrogated him about where he had been that day of course.

Though sleep didn't come easy to her, Himiko did eventually fall asleep hoping that he would be back the following day and ready for her wrath. Morning came by the blaring of her alarm and she found herself still alone in the bed. Deciding to skip out on morning training for the day, not only because Izuku was still gone but because it was their first combat training day, she went down to her best female friend's room and, after a lot of convincing and begging, slipped into the bed. It was a little awkward as they were both still fighting off the early hours of the morning, but eventually Himiko wormed her way into the woman's arms to get a little more sleep, convincing her friend to skip the early morning workout.

Eventually when Yaoyoruzu decided it was time for them to get up, Himiko was happy to say that she only mildly complained about having to get out of her comfy spot in the bed, but she did end up heading to take a shower and grab a quick breakfast before heading to class.

Again, Izuku was missing. Needless to say, she was incensed about her best friend being gone and her teacher wasn't offering any good explanation other than they would see him when he was done. Aizawa wouldn't even say WHAT it was Izuku was doing.

Another downed vial later and she almost missed it when All Might sped into the room. She came back to herself when he stood heroically at the front of the class. "**All right everyone! Today is your first class on Combat Training in a live scenario!**"

"Are we going to be learning the basics of hand to hand combat?" Iida asked curiously, his hand snapping up to draw All Might's attention to his question.

"**Nothing quite so boring.**" All Might chuckled loudly, flicking a stray hair that fell in front of his face. "**You will be putting your prowess against your classmates in a realistic scenario to see how you stack up.**"

Several students blanched at that and more questions arose. "Does this mean that whoever does the worst is being sent home?"

"What's to keep someone from going too far?"

"You're telling me I get to fight these weak nobodies and you're encouraging it? Count me in!" Everyone glared over at the explosive blonde in question.

"**Now, now, students. There will be none of that happening today. I will explain in more detail when we get to our training site.**" With a flourish of his arm a bunch of briefcases slid out of a corner of the room from the wall, making All Might smile even more. "**For now, I ask that you get outfitted into your hero costumes. The support class that is in charge of making your outfits were able to get it completed just in time! Remember though, pay attention to your outfit to see if there are any improvements that need to be made. Now, everyone go get changed and meet out front of the gym in twenty minutes, there will be a bus waiting for us to take us to our area.**"

Almost everyone scrambled for their costumes, a few of the more level-headed students hanging back until things calmed down before retrieving their cases.

Himiko heard Toru sigh in disappointment once they were all in the locker room and she looked over curiously. "What's up, your costume not quite what you wanted?"

Toru shook her head, or at least Himiko assumed that she was since the only thing she could see was her shirt shake slightly. "It's not that, it's exactly what I had asked for." She held up a pair of gloves and a set of low-cut boots.

"Wait, you're going out there naked? What happens if one of the guys bumps up against you or accidentally cops a feel because they can't see what they are grabbing?" Himiko snorted. If any of the guys tried to grab _her_ in any way inappropriate, they would lose that body part.

Toru groaned as she explained. "I don't _want_ to be naked, but I have to play to my advantages. I'm better as an infiltrator and if I'm naked, no one can see me and I can get through without causing any problems. It's just, I've been working with that Mei girl-"

As if saying her name summoned the pink-haired woman Mei shouldered through the door. "Good, you're still here!" She darted forward and grabbed Toru's hand and drug her into the shower area. "Hurry up and get undressed, we have to fit you into this before class starts."

"Hey!" Toru cried out much to everyone's surprise. "Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there!"

"Hush, you." Mei admonished her. "Did you eat a big breakfast? Because your ass is bigger than it was when we measured it the other day." Her comment made a few of the other women in the changing room check their costume's fit.

"Should we help her?" Yaoyoruzu asked hesitantly.

"And succumb to pinkie's tender touch? No thanks, I don't feel like being molested right now." Himiko smirked over at the black-haired woman getting changed next to her.

Surprisingly Toru was the first to come out of the shower area. She was dressed in a nearly skin tight elastic outfit that covered everything from her neck down in a light red material, Mei was explaining something to her as they emerged. "This is still a prototype because we haven't been able to test it for extreme temperatures. It still doesn't react well to blunt force trauma, but as long as you are cautious, you should be fine. Don't worry about getting it back to me, I'll watch our class's training to see how it did and adjust things accordingly."

Before she could leave, Himiko stopped her. "Pinkie, do you know where Izuku is? He hasn't been to class and the teachers aren't giving me anything to go off of."

Mei frowned and fought to keep her expression as calm as possible. "Muscles had a bad reaction to an experiment, but he'll be by in a few days. Don't worry about him, though, he's plenty resilient."

Himiko felt dread seize at her stomach. "What do you mean a bad reaction? Please just tell me something, I'm really worried about him. If you tell me where I can find him, I'll go see him."

Mei thought about it for a second before shrugging her shoulders. "He's in a private suite at the medical center, Recovery Girl is keeping a watchful eye on him. Come by the studio after class and I'll show you where. He's been unconscious for a while, so don't be surprised if he isn't awake when you show up."

Himiko groaned and rubbed her face. "Thanks Pinkie, I'll go see him right after class is over." With that over, Himiko let Mei leave and went about putting the rest of her costume on in silence. She finalized her outfit by adjusting the rebreather to dangle on her neck. She was dressed in a black leather catsuit, ankle-high combat boots, fingerless gloves with spikes and studs on the back, and had a small pouch attached to her right hip. Her hair was done up in her usual twin messy buns that was held together by to metal sticks. Besides her tight clothing, there were knives attached to nearly every extremity for easy access.

A quick bus trip later and everyone was standing inside a room with several large monitors displaying all different kinds of angles around a building. All Might waited for everyone to gather around. Once everyone was there, he looked all of them over approvingly. "**You all look amazing! I can see all of you becoming great heroes already! Today will be a mock battle between groups of two. One team will have a hostage that the other team will have to extradite. Feel free to use your imagination, but don't harm the hostage. You are free to play on the other team's fears, but try not to physically harm the hostage if you can.**"

"Who is going to be the hostage?" Mina asked from the front of the class, her arms folding in front of her.

"**Very good question!**" All Might nodded enthusiastically. "**Hostages will be taken on a volunteer state. If no one volunteers, I will appoint one.**"

The teacher looked around to make sure everyone was keeping up before continuing on. "**The terms of victory are as follows. The hero team must reacquire the hostage and exit the building, or incapacitate the two villains. By incapacitate I mean either render them unable to battle, or wrap this**" He pulled out a roll of white tape from behind his back "**tape around any of the extremities of the villain to consider them incapacitated. The villain team can with the same way, by incapacitating the heroes or causing the hero team to hurt the hostage. I will say that again, if the hero team attacks the hostage, they lose automatically. There is a time limit of fifteen minutes. At the end of that fifteen minutes we will end the match in the favor of the villains.**"

"Isn't that a little too favoring for the villains?" Jiro asked irritably. She was dressed in a pair of black pants, long salmon-colored shirt, black leather jacket and a pair of boots with what appeared to be speakers on the front of them. She was currently fiddling with the blade that Izuku had drawn up for her, having decided on lengthening the blade while keeping it thin to keep the weight down.

"Things will always be harder for the heroes." Himiko spun around to see a rather tired and worn down Izuku standing just behind her. Izuku was standing there in a pair of black shorts and his usual red-top sneakers. He wore no shirt, but the bandages across his chest, arms, and neck covered him almost entirely. The only thing special that he wore were the emerald green gauntlets on his hands. She barely had time to take in his bandaged appearance before she was in front of him, shaking him by his shoulders.

"Do you have any fucking idea how fucking worried I was!?" She yelled at him, glaring down at him angrily. "Pinkie said you were still locked into a hospital bed with Recovery Girl!" She finally met his eyes and the heat in her voice dropped out. His eyes were still the same green that they had been before, but they had more depth to them now, they were more vibrant.

When he could finally get her to stop shaking him, Izuku groaned and tried to steady himself the best that he could. "Y-yeah I know. I'll explain when we're free, okay?" Only then did Himiko seem to realize that the entirety of the class was staring at them incredulously.

Himiko delivered a quick punch to his arm in retaliation, her eyes speaking clearly that she expected him to explain as soon as they were free.

"**Are you sure you are well enough to be here, young Midoriya? I was informed that you wouldn't be back to class until after the weekend.**" All Might looked hesitant to allow the green-haired teen the right to join them like this.

Izuku, still holding his arm where Himiko had punched him, gave a thumbs up and a small smile. "I wouldn't be here if Recovery Girl didn't think I was capable enough for this." He lied smoothly. He was used to lying to authority figures already and he knew that All Might wouldn't have reason to doubt him. In truth he had snuck out of the hospital while Recovery Girl was getting some rest and he knew he would have to answer some questions when he got back. He'd vowed to blame All Might; the man wouldn't know what hit him until Recovery Girl was already on the warpath.

All Might cleared his throat to bring attention back to him. "**Well, now that our last member has joined us, we will get to drawing lots for teams. There will be nine teams of two and a single team of three.**"

"Wouldn't it be better for us to choose our own partners?" Iida spoke up, his knightly costume clanking together as he adjusted slightly.

"Normally, yes." Yaoyoruzu nodded, her finger resting on her chin. "But heroes never know when they will be teamed up with a random hero that they know little or nothing about. An emergency can take place anywhere an at any time. You may have to team up with whoever is closest to get the job done."

"**Quite right, Miss Yaoyoruzu! Now! I will draw teams, then we will draw lots to see who is on the hero team and who will be on the Villain team. Once teams are picked and battles are set, I will ask for volunteers to be the hostage.**" All Might started to call out teams and which teams they would be fighting against.

**Battle #: Hero vs Villain**

**Battle 1: Team I vs Team D**

**Battle 2: Team B vs Team E**

**Battle 3: Team J vs Team A**

**Battle 4: Team G vs Team F**

**Battle 5: Team H vs Team C**

**Team A – Izuku Midoriya / Tenya Iida**

**Team B – Momo Yaoyoruzu / Himiko Toga**

**Team C – Fumikage Tokoyami / Katsuki Bakugo**

**Team D – Ochaco Uraraka / Yuga Aoyama**

**Team E – Kyoka Jiro / Mashirao Ojiro**

**Team F – Tsuyu Asui / Denki Kaminari**

**Team G – Koji Koda / Hanta Sero**

**Team H – Shoto Todoroki / Rikido Sato**

**Team I – Toru Hagakure / Minoru Mineta**

**Team J – Mina Ashido / Mezo Shoji / Eijiro Kirishima**

All Might nodded at the listing of names with a satisfied smile. "**We still need a hostage volunteer for the first battle. Is anyone interested?**"

Bakugo stormed to the front quickly by pushing people out of the way. "I want in on this. Let's see what these extras can do." All Might sighed and merely let the boy do as he pleased and after passing out the required materials let them head off.

"**Alright, you five head off while the rest of you can either watch the monitors to see how your classmates do, or you can use this time to coordinate with your teammate.**" All Might turned to the monitors and folded his arms across his chest.

Izuku gave a quick apologetic look to Iida and drug Himiko out of the room and into a separate room before closing the door behind him. "Figured we might need to talk about this alone before the others find out." He muttered when she gave him a curious look.

Himiko, not knowing whether to settle on being happy he was back or be angry that he hadn't said anything before he disappeared. Eventually she settled on just being irritated. "So. What was this experiment that had you disappear yesterday morning that you couldn't bring yourself to tell me about?"

"Before you jump off your rocker about it, I didn't want to say anything until I knew everything was all drawn up and the stuff was made." Izuku explained quickly seeing the woman fingering one of the blades on her hip. "When Mei showed up yesterday morning and drug me off, I didn't know what was happening any more than you did until Recovery Girl was strapping me to her medical table and telling me what was about to happen."

Himiko paled at the thought and felt a little bad for the guy. "So what exactly…"

Izuku shook his head and stepped closer to her, "Easier to show you than to tell you. I take it you're tired of the vials?" Himiko nodded, almost too excitedly in his opinion. He knew that she didn't like the vials of blood because it all felt more clinical and less personal all-together. The pleading look in her eyes spoke far more than usual and he felt a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Taking up her hand he took the time to admire the warmth of her hand against his. He hadn't previously thought about it, not really. Everything felt more sensitive right now, or maybe it was that he had a new found appreciation of touch. He must have been staring at her hand in his for too long because he soon found her other hand gently tapping on his cheek. He blinked owlishly and couldn't fight the rush of embarrassment that rushed up the back of his neck.

"You look like you're about to be sick." Himiko skewed her face up in near disgust. "Your cheeks are turning all dark and you have a funny look ok your face." She commented her observations, still looking down slightly as he kept her hand in his.

Izuku cleared his throat and forced the feeling down, instead turning her wrist over and, with his free hand, pressed over the pressure point in her wrist. "This is the first place I let you draw from me, do you remember? That day at the beach when we first met?" He looked up into her eyes, drawing her attention to him. When she was paying full attention, Izuku turned over his own wrist and pressed two of her fingers to his pressure point and waited. It took a few long moments of confusion before realization sprung up.

In a flurry of movement, Himiko reached out and felt for his pulse on his neck, and once she found it slowly but steadily pulsing against her fingers, she slammed her head down on his chest over his heart and listened. Izuku left his arms down at his sides from when she had dropped them and let her go about checking on him. He tensed up when she pulled out one of her blades and cut lightly along his wrist, hissing gently at the sharp pain.

"I'm really weak right now, so it still hurts a bit." He explained seeing her nearly frightened look at his reaction. She seemed to accept his words in stride and calmed down quickly.

Her eyes drew back to his wrist and watched as blood slowly seeped out of the wound before it closed up, almost painfully slow compared to what she had seen him capable of in the past. Tentatively, almost like it would disappear if she moved too eagerly, Himiko brought his wrist up to her lips and gently licked his skin clean. Electricity seemed to shine in her eyes when she looked up at him, and he could see the unanswered question forming in her as she licked her bloody lips hungrily.

Izuku leaned his head to the side just enough for her to get the message and before he could blink, he felt her hands pushing the bandages away before her teeth sunk into his throat directly over a vein. His breath caught in his throat and he had to clench his teeth for a moment before he got used to the feeling. "Not too much, just enough to tie you over until the end of class. We can deal with it after I get back to the hospital room." He said gently, rubbing her back gently.

Himiko shuddered as she pulled away, that same look in her eyes whenever she drew blood from him. "It tastes a little more different than usual." She commented quietly while she made sure to get what was left on his skin cleaned up before replacing his bandages over the slow healing puncture wounds.

After a short period of silence, the two finally went back and rejoined the rest of their class but it seemed that the two teams were still separated and in their planning phases. Iida was quick to approach Izuku, taking in his entire appearance in a single moment. "Your hero costume is rather… unorthodox, Midoriya. It doesn't seem very practical." He folded his arms across his chest, the metal knight costume he wore clanging together when it set itself into place.

Izuku gave a weak smile and looked down at himself before settling for a chuckle and scratching his cheek. "It's not my hero costume. I only had time to borrow my prototype gauntlets from Mei's workshop before heading here. The rest of what I'm wearing is what I happened to be wearing yesterday morning when I woke up. Hopefully the next time we get into costume, I can show you guys what I planned out."

Iida didn't seem too enthusiastic about knowing his teammate wasn't fully prepared for the fight, but gave a nod anyways. "We still need to plan our defense, we're up next." He said rigidly.

Izuku nodded seriously in response. "Not here though, we can talk after this match is over. We don't want our enemies to hear our plans, now do we?" He thrust his jaw behind the taller boy to show that while Kirishima wasn't looking at them, it was clear that he was listening to their conversation with how close he was standing. "I have a couple of things in mind, and besides." Izuku grinned and spoke a little louder to make sure Kirishima would hear him. "If worse comes to play, then we'll find out who is stronger, Kirishima's rock solid defense, or my raw strength. I can punch through solid steel, let's see if his stone can stand up all the same." He took mild pleasure in the way Kirishima's back shuddered and the man took the hint and stepped further away from them.

His attention was brought back to the front of the room as All Might spoke into a microphone in front of the wall of monitors. "**Your prep time is up! Heroes, you have ten minutes to complete the mission and retrieve the hostage.**" Unkeying the microphone All Might took up a stance that allowed him to watch both teams at once on different monitors. "**I want everyone to watch carefully to see how both teams act and react to the other team's plans. Not only will this help you develop your own plans for the future, but this will allow you to get into the mindset of a villain so you have a better idea of what they might do. Remember, no matter what your quirk is, no matter who your team is, no matter who your enemies are or if you even know who they are, nothing will go exactly as you plan. You need to be able to adapt at a moment's notice.**"

Izuku idly noted that Himiko was pulled away by Yaoyoruzu and he could hear their quiet voices talking, but he couldn't quite pick up what they were saying. Instead he watched the monitors, pointing out the things he noticed to Iida standing next to him, pointing out flaws and things that could be done to improve on for each team.

* * *

**[Inside With Team D]**

Uraraka stood with Aoyama while they watched the doorway. They had just finished gathering all of the leftover equipment on the floor and had blocked off the door the best that they could. It was a small hope that they could just wait out the time limit, or that if it did come down to a fight, their plan had a very slim chance of bringing them a victory. Uraraka had confidence that she could take out Mineta with little effort.

Toru on the other hand was a wildcard. With the woman being invisible, then it would be hard to fight her if it came down to a real fight. However, Uraraka felt lucky that she wouldn't have to worry too much about the woman being too invisible since she had seen her hero costume. Originally, when they had opened the briefcases, she had been worried when Toru had originally taken out a set of gloves and boots, but when that pink haired person had suddenly appeared and put her friend in that leotard. It was impractical in her mind, but at least it made it easier for her fight right now.

She stole a brief glance at her teammate and couldn't stop the groan from escaping her throat. Aoyama was posing and looking into a compact mirror. At least she didn't have to worry about the hostage doing anything stupid, or so she thought until Bakugo started to chuckle. "Shut up Bakugo! You're supposed to be a hostage, so act like one and be quiet!" She whisper-shouted at the blonde that was tied up in the corner of the room.

Bakugo's chuckles turned into outright laughter as he struggled to his feet despite his bound hands. Small explosions released from his hands until he made eye contact with the gravity quirk woman that was supposed to be playing the villain. "You need to learn how to pick better hostages. Weak pretend, wanna be heroes like you two aren't worth the paper your acceptance letters were written on. I'm going to kick your asses so hard!" In an impressive display of strength, Bakugo's hands exploded violently and, with the explosion weakening the rope he was tied up with, he tore apart the rest of his bonds.

"Now DIE!" Bakugo threw himself forward in an attack on the two pretend villains. Aoyama screamed and cowered away from the blonde's battle cries. In a panic, Aoyama thrust his hips towards Bakugo's flight path and released his laser. Directly into Uraraka, throwing her out of Bakugo's attack.

Bakugo cursed when his opponent was blasted into a wall so he turned his attention to his fellow blonde and released a haymaker directly into his face. As soon as he connected, a voice announced over the intercoms, much to Bakugo's irritation. "**The simulation is over. Both teams and their **_**hostage-**__" _The irritation and sarcasm in All Might's voice was something Bakugo never thought he would hear, and he knew it was directed at him. "**-make your way back to the observation room where we will debrief.**"

* * *

**[Observation Room]**

All Might stood with a scowl on his face as he replayed the hostage fight on repeat while the rest of the class gathered around. All Might paused the video at the exact moment that Bakugo was leaping forward, an explosion clearly shown in each of his hands. "**Had this not been a simulation, and a real hostage situation… Bakugo, you would be under arrest right now.**" Despite the shouts of indignation that rang out through the class he leveled an uncharacteristically harsh stare down at the blonde. "**Not only is it against the law for a civilian to utilize their quirk in public, like you did, but you attacked someone with your quirk. That is two laws broken within less than a minute when heroes were already on their way to rescue you. On top of that, had you actually beat the two villains, in a realistic scenario, you would have been deemed the villain.**"

"But I would have won, how does that make me a villain?" Bakugo argued heatedly. "Just because the villains are weak, how would that make me the villain?"

"**Think of it this way. All the information is that two villains have taken a civilian hostage and when you arrive on scene you hear explosions and screams. When you finally catch up to the so-called villains, you find one person standing above two others, clearly the one having hurt the other two. It would be easy to claim that the intel you had gotten was wrong, so you go on the attack yourself.**" All Might cast his gaze over everyone surrounding him. "**When the heroes show up and proceed to take you down, despite you saying that you were the true victim, it would turn to the civilian's word against the villain's word about who the true villain is. With the overwhelming evidence that the two were attacked, you would lose ten times out of ten unless you had witnesses or video surveillance to back up your story.**"

Silence hung heavily around the classroom, not even Bakugo dared speak against someone that had as much experience as All Might. "**That is why we have the laws stating civilians that have not been trained are not to use their quirks unless in a dire situation, and even then, they are not allowed to cause physical harm to anyone in their attempt to get away. This is the world we live in. Quirks are harmful to those that are not trained. Civilians are better off not fighting and letting heroes do all the work.**"

Izuku glared heatedly at the picture of Bakugo on the screen, both angry at the state of the hero organization's expectations of civilians and the fact that Bakugo hadn't even tried to let the heroes in the scenario do their job, didn't let them even try.

"**Besides the laws, you went against the purpose of this exercise. We are here to see how your classmates react to the hostage scenario, not to see how you would react to being a hostage.**" All Might nodded, believing Bakugo was thoroughly chastised. "**Now, will teams B and E prepare yourselves for your scenario.**" He handed out earpieces to both teams and a map to both teams before addressing the rest of the class. "**We need another hostage, one that will follow the guidelines that I have put forth already. Follow what the villains say until you are rescued by the heroes, and do not fight back.**"

Kirishima and Izuku stepped forward at the same time, both of them surprised to see the other offer themselves up to help. Kirishima smiled widely and gave Izuku a thumbs up. "I'll take this one, you get the next one?" Izuku gave a smile back and nodded to his classmate, taking a step back and watching as the redhead headed off with Jiro and Ojiro.

Yaoyoruzu and Himiko followed the trio at a distance, the latter sending Izuku a devilish grin just before disappearing from sight. Izuku let out a sigh and grumbled under his breath about dealing with the fallout of what was to come if things weren't taken carefully.

The prep time went by in a flash and Izuku intently watched as Yaoyoruzu created some kind of scanner to determine the villain's location, then proceeded to lead Himiko through the floors until just outside the room the three were hiding in. Despite Jiro having listened and knowing where her enemies were, she wasn't prepared for Himiko to break a hole in the concrete wall before a cylindrical object was tossed into the room, followed by a loud bang and a flash of blinding light.

In a matter of seconds, the two heroes had infiltrated the room through a larger hole made by Himiko and they had subdued the villains before they could adjust to the blinding light and the disorientation. There had been no fight and in a matter of minutes everyone was standing around All Might once again.

"**That was very well executed! Now, I know the hero team won, but who would like to take a guess at who is MVP for this round?**" All Might smiled brightly down at the two women in front of him, watching as their friends clapped them on their shoulders and gave them their congratulations.

Iida stepped forward with a serious look, his helmet held under his arm tightly. "I would suggest that the award go to Yaoyoruzu for this round. Without her ability to determine the villain's location and her improvised attack, her team would not have won as quickly as they had."

"It was a bad match-up for us." Jiro was currently nursing her ears with a grimace, but went on anyways. "I didn't have anything to combat the sudden explosion of noise and they knew exactly how to take me out of the game. Despite taking me out, with Ojiro being blinded and unable to see our opponents, there wasn't much we could do without risking harming the hostage."

Yaoyoruzu shook her head. "To be completely honest, MVP should go to Himiko. Without her there to make the plan of action and her quirk, we never would have gotten into the room through your barricade."

"**Would you like to explain your reasoning for the method you took, Miss Toga?**" All Might asked curiously. "**What made you go through the wall and attack them in the way that you did? Everything went exactly as planned and I must say, I am quite impressed with how fast you got through the enemy team.**"

Himiko flushed slightly and looked embarrassed at all the attention that was being turned on her before steeling herself and grinning. "I stole the ideas from Zuzu." She admitted, but quickly noticed the glares that were sent towards her friend.

Izuku took a step away from the group and gave a weak chuckle, his hands coming up in front of him in mock surrender. "I never gave her any ideas, I swear!"

"Well, no, that's not exactly right." Himiko threw her arm around his shoulder and pulled him into her side. "You may not have told me directly how to beat them, nor did you even give me a plan of action today. You did something even better, you were yourself!" Himiko pulled out a rolled-up notebook from the pouch on the side of her hip and handed it over to Izuku. "I meant it when I said I stole it; I took your notebook on everyone's quirks from your room this morning."

Izuku snatched the book from her hands and grumbled about her ruining the book at how bent and out of place it was. He wanted to try and bend it back, but was worried it would make things worse so he sent a glare up at his friend while clutching the rolled-up notebook to his chest.

"Zuzu here has everyone's quirk written down in it, as everyone already knows from their time sitting down with him in repayment for him cooking dinner a few times a week." Himiko explained while ignoring the glare from the shorter teen. "Aside from potential ideas to use your quirks, he also has apparent weaknesses written down and for most of them he has ways to combat said weaknesses." She pointed over at Jiro. "You have incredibly sensitive hearing, so a concussion grenade will easily take you out of a fight for a short period of time." She turned her attention to Ojiro. "You rely on martial arts and the strength of your tail, so we had to disorient you and move fast. It was a crapshoot if you would be taken out with the grenade, but it was the best chance we had without attacking you outright and hoping we could beat you in a two on one fight."

All Might nodded in understanding. "**Going into the fight with more information on your enemies is a sure way to increase your odds in your favor. Good job Miss Yaoyoruzu and Miss Toga, you both did well. I am granting the MVP award to Miss Toga, for without her preplanning and knowledge, the fight could have gone much differently.** **Now! The next two teams, please head towards the staging areas for your teams, and we will need a new hostage if anyone wishes to volunteer."**

Izuku quickly pushed Himiko forward, much to her confusion, but when she looked back at him questioningly, he gave her a serious look and a nod. So, with a shrug, she offered herself up as the hostage and headed off with Iida while Izuku had some quick and quiet words with their teacher before jogging to catch up to them.

* * *

**[Top Floor With Villain Team]**

Izuku quickly tied up Himiko by her wrists and secured her arms to her body with another rope and hoisted her up in the air just until her feet were no longer touching the ground. "Not too bad, right?" He asked checking her face for any signs of discomfort.

"Nah, not too bad. Probably going to cramp up being held up in the air like this, but I can handle it for a while." Himiko nodded the best that she could from where she hung.

"I assume you have a plan to combat their quirks, Midoriya?" Iida asked while taking inventory of what was in the room. There wasn't a lot, just some discarded boxes and a couple pieces of broken furniture.

Izuku took a deep breath and looked between Himiko and Iida for a few moments. "I'm going to be one hundred percent honest right now. If it comes down to a fight, other than some theatrics, I'm not going to be worth a damn right now. Despite how much confidence I have in us, I'm not feeling too well right now, and I'm fairly certain that one good hit from the other team will be enough to knock me out for a few minutes. I'm barely worth more than a civilian right now, but I do have a plan. For it to work, I need you both to trust me. Iida, I need you to help me really play up the idea that we are villains." He turned to the blonde woman dangling in the air. "Himiko, you know I would never hurt you intentionally, so while some of what I'm going to do may look like I'm going to hurt you, I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"

Himiko nodded instantly, not having any doubt that Izuku would want her hurt, in any way. Iida however took a few moments before nodding his head, causing Izuku to let out a small sigh. "Alright, this is what I have in mind…" He went about explaining his plan to his teammate and their hostage, more so that she would know what to expect and wouldn't react too harshly than needing her help. In truth, he just didn't want her to move and get herself hurt in the process. Everything had to be calculated correctly for this to pan out the way he wanted it to.

* * *

**[Outside With Hero Team]**

All Might called out over the speaker system that their time was beginning and Shoji quickly took up the lead, his arms sprouting ears at the ends of them while the trio crept slowly through the bottom floor. Their plan was a straightforward one; they were going door to door to check each of the rooms on their way past to check for the hostage, or to check for either of the villain lying in wait for a sneak attack. They took a slow, but steady pace to check each room until they reached the third floor.

A female scream echoed through the halls that made them all stop and look at one another before taking off deeper into the building, following where they thought they heard the scream come from. Shoji continued to lead the way, listening to the whimpers of fear. He led the way up to the top floor, darting through the maze with relative ease.

"S-shut up w-woman!" Clearly it was Iida's and he didn't seem to be confident in what he was doing. What followed made them all pale. The resounding crack of metal on skin echoed eerily through the halls followed by a cry of pain once again from a female voice.

"I thought they weren't supposed to hurt the hostage, isn't that against the rules?" Mina whispered as they continued down the hall. "But, if All Might isn't stopping it, then it must be within the rules, right?" She asked fearfully.

Another cry of pain had Kirishima shoving past Shoji and Mina without a word in favor one way or the other, and he darted to the cracked doorway that he was sure the sound was coming from.

As soon as the door was pulled open, Kirishima was met with a green metal fist to the stomach, throwing him back down the hall and knocking into his two teammates. The door slammed shut and they could hear the sound of someone being smacked yet again and a female cried out. "We told you to shut up, you stupid woman! Now look at what you've done! You've brought them upon us! So help me, I'm going to throw you out that window if you don't stop your pitiful whimpering!" Izuku's cold voice cut through the air, chilling the trio once again.

"Alright, Mina, time to enact the plan. Throw your acid around the doorframe and I'll knock it down so we can get a good look at the room." Kirishima helped his teammates to their feet. Mina nodded and did as they had planned previously, knowing that if they were really hurting the hostage, that they would need to hurry so she wouldn't get any more hurt than she already had.

Mina slipped forward and ran her hands along the outer edge of the door, burning wood meeting her nose in a horrific stench. Once she was done and out of the way, Kirishima kicked the door down and Shoji leapt through the now open doorway while taking in the entire room.

Himiko swung helplessly at the far side of the room near an open window. She looked like she had a black eye and her mascara was running from the tears leaking from her eyes. There was a smattering of dark red blood on her cheeks and there were cuts in her costume. Izuku stood in front of her with one of her knives in his hand, a crazed look in his eyes as he glared over at the knightly figure next to him. "I told you to keep her quiet! Now look! You're useless, you know that Iida!"

"I just did what you planned!" Iida yelled back hesitantly, his voice clearly not holding the conviction that Izuku's did at their roles. He stepped between the two groups while Izuku turned his attention to Himiko, his hand covering her mouth to prevent any more sounds coming from her lips.

"I'll just have to do this without you then!" Suddenly, in a quick movement, Izuku turned and spartan kicked Iida towards the trio of heroes. As he flew past them, Iida's jets kicked into gear and he spun in the air, taking off running at full speed once past the enemies. "Yeah, you run away, you coward!" Izuku yelled after his teammate.

The trio watched as Iida darted down the hall and kept running even as he rounded the corner. "He's still running away." Shoji called out before turning his attention over to Izuku and Himiko with Izuku now holding the knife to Himiko's neck.

"Take one more step and I'll slit her throat!" Izuku warned before cutting the rope that held her up in the air before backing away from the trio towards the open window.

"You'll lose immediately if you do that!" Kirishima took up a stance, but didn't go any closer.

"All Might hasn't stopped us yet, so he must be okay with what I've done so far! Besides, it's not like he could get here in time to stop me anyways!" Izuku's crazed look was back, but he kept backing away until he was a few inches away from the window.

"She's your friend, you wouldn't hurt her!" Mina tried to reason with the faux villain.

Izuku bent down to grabbed a rope that was tied off to one of the pillars in the room. "If you take another step, I'll jump out the window with her and you'll just have to hope I don't drop her!"

"Shoji, now!" In a flurry of movement, hoping to take him by surprise, Shoji and Kirishima leapt forward hoping to grab Himiko away from Izuku, but Izuku had planned for that and with a cynical laugh, threw the two of them out the window, holding onto the rope with one hand.

Mina screamed in terror and darted forward with her two compatriots to the window, looking down just in time to see Izuku's back disappearing into a window a couple of floors down, the sound of glass shattering reaching their ears. Himiko wasn't falling further, so it would seem that Izuku hasn't dropped her like he said he might and had actually pulled her into the window with him.

"Mina, burn us a hole through the ground, quickly!"

Mina did as requested and threw her hands down in a panic, her hands tingling painfully as she threw out a large glob of acid to burn through the ground and leapt through, burning through the next floor as she fell with Kirishima and Shoji following quickly after her. As they all landed, they saw Izuku running out the door, cackling loudly as he ran.

Mina, being the fastest of the three even without her quirk, started to throw slick acid down in front of her and started to skate quickly after the retreating villain. She was just fast enough to catching his form disappearing down another hallway, noticing the small splatters of blood on the walls in the direction he was running so she quickly followed.

Eventually Izuku ran out of space to run and darted into a room, but left the door wide open for her to leap through blindly. She thanked her flexibility and reaction time when her instincts told her to hit the ground and she bent over backwards to barely dodge his fist rocketing past where she had just been standing. Izuku kicked the door closed and rounded on the pink-skinned woman. "Just you and me now!" He cackled before throwing himself forward.

Mina was kept on the defensive as she wove around his attacks, splashing him with acid at every free opening she had. Nearly thirty seconds later she found her opening and, after ducking under one of his attacks, kicked his feet out from under him. She didn't let up and quickly threw a thick stream of acid to immobilize him. Before he could get up, and while he was still fighting off her acid, Mina quickly pulled out her capture tape and wrapped it around his wrist.

"**Izuku Midoriya has been captured!**" All Might's voice rang out through the loudspeakers and Izuku stopped fighting immediately with a sigh, his entire body relaxing despite the ache he felt.

Shoji was the next through the door, quickly followed by Kirishima. They took stock of Izuku lying on the ground and saw that Mina was breathing heavily while knelt next to him. "Good job, Mina!" Kirishima jogged over and helped her to her feet.

"Where's the hostage?" Shoji questioned, seeing the rest of the room was empty. Izuku began to chuckle from the ground, sending them a bright smile when they looked down at him. "Where did you put her?" Shoji asked squatting down next to Izuku's head.

"You'll never find her in time, Iida has taken her far away by now." He commented from the ground. He held back a laugh at their confused looks. "It was all a ploy from the beginning, Iida snatched her up and ran away with her before you even started chasing me. You'll have less than a minute left until time is up if my calculations are correct."

Shoji converted his arms into ears and listened intently. Other than the three others in the room with him, he couldn't hear anything coming from the rest of the building. With a sigh, he relaxed his shoulders and everyone groaned when the intercoms rang out again. "**Time limit is up and a villain has escaped with the hostage still in his custody! Villain Team wins!**"

* * *

**[Observation Room]**

Once again everyone was gathered around in front of All Might, even Himiko stood smiling giddily next to Yaoyoruzu who was fettering about her appearance to make sure her friend was okay. "**Before I begin on how both teams did, I believe the villain team has some explaining to do.**"

Izuku stepped forward and turned to his class, specifically the trio that had been teamed up against him. "Himiko was never in any danger, nor was she ever hurt. The only one that was actually hurt during the entire exercise was myself."

"But we heard her scream!" Mina accused him, pointing a finger at him with a sharp glare.

"Theatrics, all of it." Izuku explained while tearing off part of his bandages from his arm before stepping forward and, after silently asking for permission and receiving it, he began to wipe off the blood and dirt from Himiko's face. The mascara wiped away easily and, much to Mina's surprise, so did the black eye. At further inspection it appeared to be a mixture of blood and make-up and in the heat of the moment, she hadn't noticed the difference. "We asked her to play along as if we were actually hitting her to get you guys to panic, but really I was having Iida hit me instead." He explained while wiping away what was left of Himiko's injuries.

Himiko stood proudly at her acting skills, grinning down at her green-haired friend while he cleaned up her face. "I knew Zuzu wouldn't hurt me, I just had to play my role."

"**Thank you for explaining that, Midoriya.**" All Might nodded his appreciation and turned to the rest of the class. Since he had been keyed into their headsets, he had been able to hear the entire plan from the start. That was the only reason he hadn't stopped the battle immediately.

"Anytime Small Might… sorry I mean All Might." He gave an abashed smile over at the teacher, one that was so fake it confused the class more than him calling All Might by the wrong name.

All Might's head snapped his head over to his student fast enough that had it been anyone else, they would have gotten whiplash. He stared at Izuku for a few moments before clearing his throat and continuing his speech to the students. "**Villains will use anything at their disposal to get what they want, to include hurting people. The villain's plan to send you into a panic worked out perfectly. The hero team abandoned almost all of their plans once they heard the hostage crying out in pain.** **Who wishes to explain where the villain team had decidedly won the battle?**"

Uraraka raised her hand timidly and, after receiving attention from the teacher, went about her explanation. "It happened when they let Iida run off without sending someone after him or keeping tabs on his whereabouts. That allowed Iida to head to the roof and grab the rope that was tied around Himiko and pull her to the roof as soon as Midoriya jumped out of the window. The heroes didn't see Himiko heading to the roof because their attention was stuck on Midoriya down below. Even when they got down to the floor Midoriya was on, Mina separated her team by using her quirk to keep up with him. Her acid made it hard for Kirishima and Shoji to keep up and they quickly fell behind, but were able to follow the trail, just at a slower pace. By the time they caught up to Mina and Midoriya, the battle had already been decided with Iida running away with Himiko unchallenged."

"**Very good, Miss Uraraka! Who would you grant MVP to?**" All Might asked curiously.

"It was Midoriya's plan and he even sacrificed himself to keep the hostage from truly being harmed, so I would give him the win for committing to his role entirely." Uraraka nodded seriously. "Mina may have been the only one to capture an enemy, but Midoriya was aiming to distract them, not to outright win."

"**Let this be a warning to everyone. Villains do not play fair and will use everything at their disposal. Not every fight is physical, as we saw here. This was more about the mental manipulation than it was about a physical confrontation."** All Might explained, making sure the point was being hammered into everyone.

Izuku was finding it harder and harder to concentrate as he fought to stay awake. He had used up far more of his energy than he had hoped to in the short confrontation and before long, had excused himself to the back of the room to lean up against the wall. While the other teams were going about their fights, Izuku found himself being shaken awake by a rather angry Jiro. "Mind explaining why you suddenly have a heartbeat?" She practically hissed at him, more out of confusion than anything.

He didn't remember exactly what he had told her, but the next thing he knew he was being shaken awake again. He grumbled and leaned his head up to see Jiro blushing down at him. It took a few moments of contemplation to see that he had sat down on the ground and had fallen asleep leaning against her. She had decided to finally wake him up when the class was over and now that he was awake, then she quickly took her leave from him.

He was quickly brought up to speed on the outcome of the last two matches. Asui and Kaminari won handily when Kaminari electrocuted Kado into unconsciousness, then Sero didn't have the mobility to keep up with Asui and Kaminari tag teaming him in hand to hand combat. Todoroki, in a stroke of what would later be described as complete stupidity, simply froze the entire building from the outside. Bakugo and Tokoyami were able to counteract the ice by breaking one another out, but the match had already been decided when the hostage was frozen in a block of ice and deemed to have been incapacitated, resulting in a loss for the heroes before the match could even begin.

Himiko stepped up to his other side and propped him up before dragging him back to the infirmary where Recovery Girl was waiting for him. "And where have you been?" The old woman asked, tapping her foot impatiently with a scowl adorning her face.

"All Might took me out for the first day of combat training. Said something about being well enough to participate if I was already awake." Izuku lied easily, still half asleep. Recovery Girl smacked him upside the back of the head despite his reasoning and glared at him, telling him to lie down or she would tie him down.

Himiko barked a laugh from next to him, but he ignored it in favor of lying down in the bed hoping to get more rest. Recovery Girl dissuade that idea immediately when she slammed down a plate of food along with two high calorie emergency rations in front of him. "Eat this first, then sleep. If you don't get out of this bed and work on getting better, maybe I'll let you go back to your dorm tomorrow." She chastised him with a mild glare.

"Yes, Ma'am." He replied with a small smile while robotically eating his food. Himiko took the time to take his gauntlets from him and set them aside and once he had eaten and laid back down, she told him that she would be back after dinner to go over what he had missed in class previously. Izuku barely had time to thank her and give her an appreciative smile before sleep overtook him.

Sleep held onto him so tightly that Izuku didn't wake up to the pokes and prods of the woman forced on him while she conducted her tests on how his body was adapting.

* * *

**[Principal Nezu's Office]**

"He knows?" Nezu asked in confusion. "Are you sure you aren't reading into it too much? He did just go through a serious surgery and you said it yourself, he seemed sluggish and a little tired. Maybe it really was just a slip of the tongue."

All Might stood in his weakened state with a sharp look in his eyes. "No, the words themselves I could have gotten over, it was the condescendingly fake embarrassment that he pretended to have afterwards that sealed the deal."

"Well, he did spend quite a bit of time around your friend David, could he have learned it from him?" Nezu asked curiously while running through different scenarios in his own head.

"I trust David with my life, he wouldn't go blabbing out my secret like that." All Might shook his head. "I'd met him before that incident in his home town, but I was never around him in this form, nor should he recognize me in it if I was unless he saw me transform."

"I'll have someone look into it, but it doesn't look like he's spreading it around so we shouldn't confront him about it unless we are absolutely sure." Nezu offered. "Though, that does bring up the question about why he hasn't said anything if its true he knows, but this does bring a new element to that young man."

"Yeah, and if I'm completely honest, it scares me a little. A quirkless boy dies then suddenly wakes up with no explanation about what happened. He makes a bunch of friends with pro heroes then sacrifices himself to save another, grievously injuring himself in the process. Immediately after he recovers, he brings in a known villain that, with her help, leads us to a vigilante that has several hero deaths to his name. Now I find out that he knows my secret? Things around young Midoriya are too sporadic and follow no rhyme or reason. I feel we need to keep an eye on him and young Toga more than we already are."

"I'll have them tracked for the foreseeable future if it will help ease your concerns, but I do not believe he is doing anything untoward. Everything you've put out so far leads him to be seen as an aspiring hero." Nezu argued.

"I just have a feeling here. Please, trust me for now."

* * *

**[1-A Dorms Saturday Morning]**

When he woke up, Izuku let out a low groan. His back was up against the wall next to his bed and his blonde friend had pressed her back up against his chest. Despite how many times he had previously awoken like this, today was a new experience for him. His left arm was under her head and he couldn't feel it. Normally it was just a tingling sensation, but with the blood actually pumping through his veins, albeit still slow and rather low in supply, the numbness was a new feeling. His right arm was wrapped around her middle, holding her tight to him, but also somehow trapped between two warm bodies.

He finally opened his eyes and froze. Not a foot in front of him were two nearly glowing yellow eyes staring back at him. His brain took a few seconds to reboot, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly.

Toru seemed to see what he wanted to say and smiled bashfully, but kept her voice low. "I tried to come by last night to thank you for what you and Himiko did for me. You were already asleep apparently and when Himiko opened the door half asleep… she grabbed me and pulled me to the bed, didn't give me any say in the matter. Sorry I invaded your bed."

"Glad to help." He finally responded, pulling his hand from in between the two women and seeing that Himiko had Toru wrapped up in an embrace as well. "And don't worry about it, Himiko doesn't know what she's doing when she's half asleep. If anything, I'm sorry you got dragged into…" He gestured with his now free hand to how they were lying. "Well, this."

"It's alright, once I accepted that I wasn't getting away, it was pretty nice. Almost reminds me of when I had sleepovers with friends." She blushed at that.

"You two are too loud in the mornings." Himiko grumbled, burrowing her face deeper into the invisible girl's chest while trying to drown out the noise.

Izuku smiled fondly and pulled himself away from Himiko, awkwardly sitting up despite how little room he actually had, and slipped out of the bed. The dim light of the early morning hours was just enough for him to see his way over to his closet, feeling a pair of eyes on his back while he pulled out a random shirt and threw it on. "I'll make some breakfast and bring it up before I head out for my workout."

"Recovery Girl said you need to take it easy and that you aren't allowed in the gym until your body is back at a hundred percent." Himiko called out to him from where she lay.

Izuku groaned at that, remembering that the woman had told him off at length once All Might had told her that he didn't know that Izuku would be at the training session and that the pro hero had certainly not dragged him there. "Yeah. I should just head to the Design Studio to check up on Mei, make sure she's not sleeping on her workbench again." He finally turned to see that Toru was still watching him, but Himiko wasn't letting the girl get out of bed. "Himiko let go of Toru."

A muffled denial was his response and he could see her shaking her head out of the corner of his eye. Despite the lack of light, he could swear that he saw Toru's blush darken and she let out a small gasp.

"I wonder what Yaoyoruzu would say if she heard you were cuddled up with someone else that wasn't her?" Izuku teased, knowing that whenever Himiko wasn't sleeping in his room, she was with Yaoyoruzu. "She might get jealous."

Himiko turned just enough to glare at him. "Then tell her to get herself up here and show me just how jealous she is." She shot back at him.

Izuku took it in stride and shrugged his shoulders. "As long as you change the sheets and are all dressed when I get back, do as you three please." He threw a wave over his shoulder as he left, ignoring Toru's embarrassed squeak.

Midway through pulling out what he needed for breakfast for the three of them, Izuku stopped. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, knowing that Himiko wouldn't have let go of Toru and had instead fallen back asleep. He whipped out his phone and shot a quick text to Yaoyoruzu telling her that Himiko was being a pervert to a sleeping Toru in his room, asking that she take care of it so people didn't get the wrong idea about him. He went back to cooking, instead preparing another meal for Yaoyoruzu as well. The extra work would be worth whatever happened.

Just as he was plating up the food, he got a response saying that she was on her way. He dropped a steaming plate piled high with food in front of the yellow sleeping bag on the couch then quickly jumped in the elevator, hoping that he could catch at least part of what Yaoyoruzu had planned.

"Himiko, what are you doing to Toru!"

"Momo! I can explain!" If Yaoyoruzu wasn't loud enough to wake up everyone on his floor, then Himiko's surprised scream was. Izuku swiftly rushed down the hall and into the room to see Yaoyoruzu standing in a fluffy white robe standing at the edge of his bed with her hands on her hips looking down at Himiko practically laying on top of a blushing Toru, not that either of the other two women could see it.

As soon as he was in sight, Himiko rose up on her knees, the large shirt she usually chose to sleep in riding up on her legs and she pointed at him accusingly. "You did this!"

Izuku strode into the room, smiling down at his friend. "You were the one that wouldn't leave Toru alone, I had to bring in the big guns." He smoothly maneuvered the black-haired woman into the seat at the desk and slid a plate of food in front of her. "Thank you for your help, Yaoyoruzu, I really appreciate it. I didn't want to walk in and see her doing something inappropriate to Toru."

"Hey!" Himiko cried out indignantly.

Izuku walked up to the bed and pushed Himiko off Toru by her face before handing her a plate and silverware. Toru gave him a small smile in thanks and sat up so he handed her another plate while taking a seat himself at the edge of the bed. He pointed over at Himiko's scowling face while looking over at Yaoyoruzu. "She said you'd be jealous that it wasn't you that was in bed with her."

"I didn't even want to sleep here…" Toru offered, not really needing to pretend.

Yaoyoruzu shot a dark look at Himiko, pausing before she could eat another bite. "Not only were you being a pervert in Midoriya's bed, but you didn't even ask for Toru's permission first?"

"Zuzu got out of bed and no one else was around, what else was I supposed to do?" Himiko pouted, poking at her food. "Besides, she didn't tell me to stop."

"A lack of a no, is not approval to do perverted things to your friends!" Yaoyoruzu pointed her fork over at the blonde. "I expect better from you."

"Perverted?" Himiko cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean? We were just sleeping." She looked over at Izuku in realization, then pointed at him accusingly. Izuku wasn't bothering to hide his grin. "You did this! You turned Momo against me!"

Izuku laughed lightly. "Then stop threatening to have sex with people in my bed when I'm gone." Toru and Yaoyoruzu blushed and they quickly ate their food in silence. Once they were done Izuku collected the plates. "I'll be back later, please don't do anything in my bed." He shot his blonde friend a look in which she grinned back. He made his way over and leaned in close, making eye contact with her. "At least invite me first next time." He whispered just loud enough for her to hear him, taking joy in seeing Himiko blush before heading out.


	7. Secrets and Change

**Chapter 7: Secrets and Change**

**A/N: Some things are revealed in this chapter, so please take the time and let me know whether they work or not. If they suck, tell me WHY they suck, I can't grow better if I don't know why my ideas aren't working.**

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**[Class 1-A Monday Morning]**

The class fell to silence when Aizawa's disheveled and tired appearance slipped into the class. "I hope you all had fun during your first live combat experience." He cast his gaze across each of his students, gauging their reactions and thoughts with a glance. He stopped to stare at his three problematic students, his gaze hardening on each of them before moving on. "However, its time you all start taking this a lot more seriously."

He waited until the protests died down before continuing. "I saw how many of you relied on your quirks and the strengths of your teammates to get things done. You can't always rely on others, nor your own quirk. Today we will be focusing on your own physical attributes. Those of you with physically manifesting quirks will hold yourself back from using them. We will be going down to our designated gym where there will be multiple different masters of different disciplines that you can choose to learn from."

A soft set of murmurs sprung up between the classmates in their excitement at learning from more professionals.

"Before that, you all need to make a decision that will follow you until the day you leave here." Aizawa droned on emotionlessly. "Few decisions you make this year will have as much as impact on your future growth." He ignored the fearful looks from his class with that same unimpressed expression. "You will be picking class representatives."

Relief burst forth and several people spoke up at once.

"Pick me!" Kirishima stood up raising his hand.

"I wanna do it!" Mina burst out enthusiastically.

"Let him finish explaining before you all start throwing your hat into the ring." Jiro sighed from her seat, seeing the energetic Kaminari physically vibrating next to her at wanting to be picked himself.

"As I was saying." Aizawa continued. "These representatives will help the class with keeping track of various tasks during class, coordinating between the other classes for joint exercises, and will be held accountable for what happens whenever a teacher or pro hero isn't around."

"That's… a lot of responsibility to put on someone so early into the year." Uraraka muttered in the near silence that followed Aizawa's announcement. There was still a lot of excitement over the positions and nearly everyone wanted the positions, but there wasn't the same exuberance that there was. Not that they knew more of what was going to be required by them.

Iida stood up after a few moments of continued silence. "Sir, when must we give you our answer?" He asked seriously.

"As soon as possible." Aizawa looked like he just wanted to go back to sleep. "In real life situations, someone needs to take charge of the incident at a moment's notice. When you are all pros, you will have much more responsibility than this. Make it fast."

Yaoyorozu raised her hand and spoke up after getting his attention. "This isn't a sudden incident though. If you want to compare it to pro hero life, then you could compare it to an extended operation. I feel like it would better improve our chances of success if we had more time to decide, make a decision based on facts and the right personalities instead of a rushed, panicked decision."

Aizawa glared at the black-haired woman for several seconds, then shrugged carelessly. "Decide by the end of the day, just get me an answer before dinner or I'll have to decide. I assure you that none of you will be happy if I have to be the ones to pick."

Off to the side of the class the wall separated to show their hero briefcases once again. "As this will be more of an instructive lesson and you won't be using your quirks, it is up to you if you wear your hero costumes. I will warn you though, for those of you with bulkier costumes, it would be beneficial to practice in it so you are used to working around your costume's disadvantages. If you don't wish to wear your costume, change into your gym uniform. Be in place in ten minutes."

Everyone rushed to do as requested, most everyone grabbing their costumes and taking off. Izuku was the last one out of the room, moving far slower than usual. Ever since he had left the infirmary, he had needed more sleep and was taking in far more calories than he had ever needed. On top of that, his whole body felt sluggish and wasn't responding as well as before. Recovery Girl had explained it as his body rebooting. With his heart beating with the assistance of Mei's invention, his blood was pumping and returning his limbs and organs back to working order. She had even been excited during their tests to see that they were recording brain activity again.

That was another thing. While sluggish and having his body not respond perfectly, and it was messing with his coordination and depth perception, his mind was on fire. He was remembering past conversations with vivid detail and it was keeping his emotions frayed. It wasn't much to say that he had been rather difficult to be around since his surgery.

Himiko had even gotten angry at him for it, something that hadn't happened in all the time he had known her. It was enough that over the past two days she had been spending as little time as possible around him, at least until he pulled his head out of his ass, as she had said.

Having her gone had been a great boon for him, though. It made him really look back and think at what had been going on over the past few years since his death. He hadn't actively been working on any goals other than looking to improve on heroes. He hadn't been actually doing anything other than absently torturing Bakugo with his continued presence and growing stronger. Sure, he had been making contacts with several heroes and had been trying to find out exactly what had been going on with him, but everything had been a blur, an excuse for his continued existence.

He could see it now, and it was beyond clear to him when he really looked back. He hadn't been feeling any of the emotions that he had put out, he had merely been reacting with how he would expect normal people to react. He had been selfish in most of those reactions. He needed help and to explain things, explain where his mind was and what he thought was happening. Himiko was out of the question, for now at least. But he knew there was one thing that he had to share with her and decided that he would sit her down after classes were over and show her everything he knew.

So, after changing, he had settled on wearing a tired glare to keep people from asking too many questions and had walked directly up to the blonde, who was also in her hero costume. She spoke up before he had a chance, her eyes widening comically. "Did they give you platform shoes with that costume of yours?" She asked in surprise.

Izuku looked down at his feet, lifting one of the boots he was wearing to inspect it, then looked down at her feet. "No, and I'm not the one wearing high-heeled boots." Looking back up at her, he saw what she was talking about.

"You…" She started, a little worried. "But you said that you were stuck that way."

"Must be a side effect of my heart beating again." He reasoned slowly. "Now that you mention it, my clothes have started to feel a little smaller lately, I had figured that I had messed up when washing them and shrunk them."

"Shrunk your clothes?" She deadpanned. "You didn't come up to my chin before and I'm barely able to see over your head, and I'm wearing heels. You fucking grew. Did your body finally decide to hit puberty or something?"

"Or something…" Izuku frowned even more. He had even more questions than before about what was happening with him. But it made a lot of sense at why he felt so sluggish and was having difficulty with his coordination. "I'm not here for that though. I need you to come by my room after school's over today."

"You done bein' an ass?" She snapped, remembering how angry she had been at him since their confrontation after he had gotten back from the Design Studio after he had sent Momo after her. The surprise of his growth wearing off quickly. "Cause you know-"

"Will you just shut up and listen for a second?" He snapped. "Come by my room and I'll explain **WHY** I've been this way lately." He clenched his fists and quickly released them when he could hear the groaning of the metal of his gauntlets bending. "Look, you can stab me or whatever makes you happy after we've talked, but it's something I can't talk about right now, not here."

She continued to glare at him while she thought it over. True, he had been a jerk to her out of nowhere, but she hadn't expected it to come from him out of the blue like it had. The things that he had said to her weren't even close to the worst that she had been called, but coming from him they had hit far harder. "Fine." She finally said. "But it better be good."

"I'll show you exactly why I hate Bakugo as much as I do." He offered, giving her a wicked smile when she looked at him expectedly. This would give her something new to sink her teeth into. "That's the biggest part of why I can't tell you right now. Telling you or showing you with all of these people around wouldn't be good for any of us." He gave her one more nod and left to join the rest of the joint class between 1-A and 1-B.

Himiko watched him go and was happy with herself for not jumping in surprise when Jiro slid up next to her in her own hero costume. Himiko stopped spinning the blade she had been holding and looked over when the woman spoke up. "You two still haven't kissed and made up yet?"

"A simple kiss ain't gonna make up for it this time, Jacks." Himiko flashed a saucy smile over at the other hero, masking her frustration with her whit.

"Couldn't help but overhear some of what was said. What did he mean by why he hates the blonde bomber?" Jiro asked, slightly annoyed at the nickname she had been given but ultimately ignoring it. She was used to nicknames about her quirk and had heard all of them. "I heard they came from the same school, some bad blood there?"

"Not sure how deep it runs. The way they act sometimes, I'd almost think Izuku wants to kill Baka-go. Their training sessions are more along the lines of Izuku toying with Baka-go, bordering torture." Himiko turned her eyes over to the blonde in question and saw him glaring back at her. She grinned evilly over at him before turning her eyes back over to where Izuku was standing to take in his hero costume for the first time.

Izuku stood apart from the rest of the class, close enough to be given instruction when their teachers showed up, but just far enough away to isolate himself. With his growth it looked like the clothes he was wearing would need to be exchanged soon. Black pants with a form fitted plain black short-sleeved shirt and an emerald green hoodie with the sleeves cut off was the majority of his costume. The only thing that stuck out were his dark green gauntlets that covered his fists and most of his forearms, a black rebreather that looked very similar to the one Himiko was wearing, and with the hood down you could see a clear earpiece in his right ear with the cord disappearing into his shirt.

In her time watching Izuku and trying to piece together what had been going on between them recently, including since the time they had moved into the dorms, she realized that she missed being around him. They had grown rather dependent on one another in the short time, or maybe it was just her that had grown dependent on him. The longer she spent away from him, the harder it was to be mad at him. Every passing moment made her more desperate to be by his side once again.

In her thoughts about what was happening between her and her friend, she only realized the teachers had shown up and were talking when Jiro jabbed her in the side with one of her jacks. Several different instructors were standing behind Aizawa as he introduced them all. After introductions were done, everyone split off to talk to the instructors in small groups. Everyone would get a brief explanation and demonstration of the varying disciplines from each instructor before they would decide on who they wanted to meet up with to learn from.

* * *

**[1-A Classroom]**

After the training session Yaoyorozu offered for them all to meet up during lunch to discuss the representative positions so they could discuss who wanted them as well as to give everyone a chance to briefly try to convince everyone about why they should be chosen.

Everyone agreed and after a quick shower they grabbed lunch and met back at their classroom. Yaoyorozu, being the one to come up with the plan, stepped up to the front of the class first. "I'll start us off. I want to be the primary representative because I believe my analytical mind and organizational skills are best suited for assisting with scheduling and ensuring everyone can stay on task. My quirk may not help the position, but I have had personal training in managing groups of people in case I take over my parent's company one day." She explained with a confident tone of voice. "Who else?"

"Ooh! Me!" Mina jumped up and darted to the front of the class. "I may not be the most organized one in the class, but you can be sure that I will take the job seriously. I can promise to keep morale high and I'll be sure to plan for recuperation as well as planning fun events!" She thrust a fist into the air excitedly. "Being a hero isn't just about getting the job done, you have to be prepared to be in the spotlight and know how to talk to people and give interviews. I'm really good at these things, so I can help prepare all of you!"

Aoyama was next, striking a pose at the front of the class while smiling brightly. "I am clearly the best for the job. I shine the brightest and can teach all of you how to sparkle just as brightly as I can! When we graduate, all eyes will be on us!" Short and sweet, straight to the point, and the teen was skipping back to his seat.

Bakugo stood up and stormed to the front of the class, glaring at everyone there. "You're all nothing but a bunch of nobodies. I'm stronger than anyone here and you-"

"Sit the fuck down." Izuku cut in, his cold tone getting everyone to turn to him.

"The fuck-" Bakugo grew angry.

"You demean everyone with the very first words out of your mouth." Izuku shook his head, but glared sharply when it looked like Bakugo was going to tell him off again. "Sit. Down."

Bakugo glared again, but much to everyone's surprise, didn't say anything and instead walked back to his seat and sat down, grumbling under his breath.

"You wanna go next Izuku?" Jiro asked, turning in her seat. She herself had no want to have that kind of responsibility. She had enough on her plate than needing to deal with everyone else's drama.

With everyone's eyes still on him Izuku shrugged his shoulders and went to the front. "I don't really care for the primary slot, but I believe I would do well as an assistant. I've already talked to just about everyone here to get a good grasp on your quirks and I can help set a training regimen that would benefit you. I've also done the same for our sister class and nearly every quirk they have, save for those that did not wish for my help. My only aspirations here are to grow into the best hero that I can, and to help all of you become the best heroes that you can all become. I think that as the assistant representative, I can do that."

Iida walked to the front when Izuku left and stood rigidly at the front of class. "I have witnessed my brother lead multiple pro heroes and have seen the different methods of training that could benefit us all. I can assure you that I will be diligent, attentive, and hold our class to the highest standard that our predecessors set for us!" He bowed at his waist to the class. "Thank you for your consideration as the primary representative for our class and if you vote me in, I guarantee that I will do my best every day."

Kirishima was next, standing proudly at the front of the class. "I may not be the smartest person in the class -shut up Mina- but I think I am the one that has the strongest work ethic in class. I can be the backbone of our group, the rock-solid support when you need it. My family has a deep background of psychological and emotional therapy, so if life ever gets you down, know that you can turn to me at a moment's notice."

After a few more individuals came forward and gave their positions they wanted and their reasoning, they decided to take some time to think and discuss amongst themselves before deciding at the end of the day and take a vote just before the final class ended. Eventually everyone stood up to leave, but Izuku called for their attention quickly. "One thing to add. The information I have is available to anyone regardless of whether I am chosen or not, I just want to make that clear. Don't vote for me because you think I'll withhold helpful tips without being in one of the spots." He saw at least two people breathe a sigh of relief and as a class they left to finish lunch and to think over their possible choices.

On the way out, Himiko stopped Izuku and held him behind. Once everyone had left, and even had vacated the hall itself, she turned to him. "Can you tell me now about what happened between you and Bakugo? I'd rather not put this off any longer."

Izuku took her hand and pulled her out of the building and towards their dorm. "I can't show you right now because I don't have it on me, I have it hidden away in my personal safety deposit box in my bank back at my home town. Safer there than having it somewhere that someone can get their hands on it and force my hand." He explained. "But I'll explain the rest that happened after it."

Taking her up to his room he pulled out that shoebox that she had seen before, pulled out the thumb drive and typed in the password. He proceeded to explain to her his life from the time he woke up in his grave up until the time he had been crushed under Mount Lady's foot.

"David Shield, you remember me mentioning him, right?" Himiko nodded that she did and that she was following so far. "Well, in his experiments to try and get me back to the land of the living, well as much as before that villain incident, he made a rather interesting discovery." He brought up a video of him lying on a metal table with the doctor in question standing over him, making incisions and cuts in his body while injecting different liquids into various places. "My **_body_** doesn't have a quirk, like we had thought all along."

When the lighting in the video dimmed Izuku paused it and pointed out the dark spot over his stomach in the video. "We found out that the power that I have is this. That's a physical representation of what I am." He turned to her and gestured to his body. "Think of my body like a suit of armor. That black energy is what is inhabiting this body. That energy is what is keeping me around despite having my body being dead."

"Are you saying that there is some other kind of energy feeding you?" She asked, rather confused.

"No. As far as we understand, I am that energy and I latched back onto my own body when it died." He looked into her eyes with hardened eyes. "Doctor Shield and I believe that when I died, my soul refused to leave. My soul refused to move on to whatever happens when you die, something kept it tethered here. We don't have any concrete proof other than these videos of his experiments to go off of, and the fact that I had actually died, to back up what I'm saying."

"Does he think he can recreate it?" She asked hesitantly.

"No, or at least we haven't tried it on anyone recently dead. I don't think people want a stranger to experiment on their recently deceased relatives." He added, not wanting to go down that route.

To say Himiko had been expecting anything like this as part of his explanation would be a straight up lie. "This is… fascinating and everything, but why does that explain what you said to me the other day?"

Izuku pointed to the side of his head. "Mind you, this is purely speculation and an educated guess because there is no way for us to have a concrete answer. This has never happened before, at least to our knowledge. My brain has been dead for nearly three years, sending no impulses to the rest of my body to get it to do what I need it to. Therefore, my soul had to pick up the slack and force my limbs to do what it wanted and had to hold what memories it could without devoting too much effort to it. Your emotions are rather controlled by your past experiences and how you react depends wholly on those memories and how you were raised."

He made sure she was looking in his eyes before he went on, wanting to make sure she really understood what he was leading to. "Without having those memories and experiences influencing my emotions, my soul wasn't able to keep up. The memories were there, but they weren't leading my emotions like they should have been. Think of how toddlers don't know why they are doing things, that they just react. Now, with my blood pumping through my veins, my brain has been reactivated in a sense and my soul dumped all my new memories into it."

He paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "I haven't truly been using my emotions since I died. Everything was muddled and… it's hard to explain, but now I can tell that I wasn't reacting how I should have been, not wholly. Since those memories have integrated into my psyche, I have been reliving what lead up to and including my death as well as when I woke up ok repeat. I was able to push it aside during the training and for most of the morning after, but while I was on my way back from the Design Studio, I saw **_him_** walking around safe and free and everything seemed to snap."

He took up her one of her hands between his own and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I said a lot of hurtful things to you then and I'm not going to hide behind excuses. I was in a bad place and I took it out on you, for that I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that. You've been a **real** friend to me. I still haven't worked through everything that I've done or come to terms with my plans yet, but I still need you to help me if you are still willing."

Himiko still didn't know what to think. He had said a lot, and most of it didn't make sense, but she could tell he was being honest with her. One of the things she prided in herself was her ability to read people and right now Izuku was sincere in his regret and she felt she could trust him. "You better never call me a whore again. I'd think you knew that would be crossing the line with me."

Izuku didn't hide his flinch. He **really** regretted calling her that. "You're not… that, and I should have never said it. I was in a dark place at the time and I wanted to hurt someone, you just happened to be the first person that I saw long enough to do something about." He smiled weakly. "Do you remember what happened to Bakugo when he called you one the first time?"

Himiko smirked at the memory. "I remember you smacking him through the Bakugo's kitchen table then his mother berating him for nearly an hour before driving us here to help us move in." She refocused her thoughts quickly. "Now, what happened between you and Bakugo? I know, I know, you want to show me this video or something. Tell me now, show me after class."

Izuku thought about it for a full minute before nodding. "He caused my mother's death."

Himiko looked horrified but Izuku held up a hand to stop her from talking. "He didn't kill her, but his actions caused her death. His actions and someone else's decisions led to her death. I won't tell you what he did until I can show you the video. You'll need to see it as proof. Immediately after class I'll take you into my home town and we'll put everything on the table."

"That explains why you hate him. Does his own mother know?"

"Fuck no." Izuku glared at her. "That'd be the easy way out. No, he has to suffer for what he did. That's part of my problem. I've been remiss of his suffering, holding back too much and I want you to help me really make his life a living hell. I haven't told anyone else about what happened to let him come here so I could torture him until he becomes a hero so he can make up for my mother's death. After he's done that? I'll break the illusion everyone has of him and show the whole world who he really is. No matter how much good he does, he'll always be a murderer."

Himiko's frown deepened. "What do you want to do to make him suffer?"

"The Bakugo family is off limits, I've loved them like they were my own family for longer than I can even remember. They were friends with my mother since before I was born, so you can't touch them. The shit-stain himself? No permanent damage and nothing that can be traced back to us." Izuku explained. "But I want him to be afraid of what we'll do, of what we'll say. He values how strong he is above all else, so every chance I get I'm going to make sure I'm there in front of him to knock him back down so he'll get stronger and stronger so he can help as many people as possible when he goes pro. He'll do a lot of good for the world, he has that capacity at least."

"Then we pull the rug out from under him and burry what's left." Himiko's frown had turned into a grin.

"You can do whatever, however you want, as long as you don't kill him or get yourself into trouble." Izuku doubled down on what he had said earlier, seeing that she was getting close to losing herself to her plans for revenge.

"Aren't you being a little hypocritical right now? Don't get me wrong, I'm on board through and through, but when this gets back to his mom, it's going to tear that family apart."

"An eye for an eye." Izuku shot back with a grin. "I don't care what happens in the end, hell I'll probably get hung out to dry once everything comes to light, but I'll deal with that when it comes to it."

"I have so many ideas." Himiko giggled perversely. "I already have a perfect starter, but it'll take a couple of days to set up."

"Come on, lets get back. Lunch should be over soon and we still have the rest of the day ahead of us."

Just outside the building, Izuku frowned over at his friend from beside her. "I'm sorry again, I can only promise it won't happen again."

Himiko looked down at him for a few seconds, her eyes narrowed in concentration at him. He had enough time to brace himself just before her blade darted out and slammed into his bicep. "Better not, Zuzu." Despite the sharp pain, Izuku was relieved to hear her use his nickname again, having her call him by his full name had been hurtful to hear. He let out a shallow grunt as she ripped her blade free and licked it clean.

"I also need to go apologize to Nemuri and Yu." At her questioning gaze he offered a weak shrug. "Kinda manipulated them into being in a relationship together. Now that I look back, it was pretty fucked up of me to do."

"You got two hot babes to fuck and you feel bad about it?"

"Well, I didn't feel bad about it until I thought about what I've been doing with you." He admitted, quickly going on at her sudden glare. "Let's be honest, you and I? Never gonna happen, you've said it yourself multiple times. I'm too short and my dick don't work." She snorted a laugh at that, but nodded for him to go on. "So, if I couldn't have you, my closest friend, then I wanted to make sure I didn't have to come drag you out of some guy's bed if I needed you. I'd **much** rather drag you out of Yaoyorozu's bed."

Himiko grinned at that. "So that's what you've been trying to do? Get me to sleep with her?"

"Well she certainly doesn't seem opposed to the idea." He quipped back at her. "Do you have any idea how fast she was from the time she saw my message about you doing something perverted to the time she was there yelling at you? That and she doesn't mind you crawling into her bed at all hours of the night in your various stages of undress."

"I'd only go to her when you weren't going to sleep for the night." Himiko offered. "It's nice to be in bed with someone, and despite your small stature, you've been good to me and the cold is oddly reassuring. No one else has that presence so if I wake up from a bad dream, I know it's you." Himiko's eyes weakened and she rubbed her arms briefly. "I don't know if guys are really on the table for me in the future anyways. Even when I wake up in bed with Momo, sometimes I get really scared that I was back on the streets and the person next to me had…"

Izuku took her hand and gently squeezed it. "And the fact that Momo has rather… large assets helps you realize that it's not what you think?"

"It certainly helps." She admitted with a small blush.

"You know you'll never have to worry about that ever again, right?" He saw her nod. "I meant what I said before, ya know? You're still mine, and I wouldn't let anything like that happen to you."

"Yeah, yeah, you explained it plenty before." Her smirk had come back and she looked a bit better. "Thought you hated perverts. What is all of this, then?"

"Self-preservation." He stated without hesitation. "I might have to kill whatever guy you bring into my bed just to tick me off. I'm much more willing to give pause if it's someone like Yaoyorozu and I'd rather not be arrested for something as pedantic as that. I have enough bodies to bury without adding classmates to that list."

"Oh, that gives me a good idea!" She took her hand away from him and started to run off. "I need to go talk to that girl, I'll see you in class, Zuzu!"

Izuku chuckled to himself, happy that his excitable friend was back and she wasn't moping around. He didn't like that she was still afraid of her past coming back to haunt her and vowed to himself that he would find a way to fix that. He held up his hand in the light and frowned at it before shaking his head. That would have to be a last resort if nothing else worked or if she didn't eventually get better.

* * *

**[1-A Classroom]**

The end of the day came quickly and it was time for everyone to put in their votes for their Representative and Assistant Representative. Small pieces of paper had been passed out and Jiro had offered to collect and count them since she didn't want any part in the running. They all agreed to vote for the Lead Representative first, then vote on the assistant based on who won.

Jiro stood at the front of the class after having gathered the votes and having counted them. Inside she was extremely happy at the results, but was able to hold onto her passive expression. "With nine votes, our Representative is Momo Yaoyorozu. Coming in second with six votes is Tenya Iida." She flashed the tall woman a smile.

Once again after having collected the votes for the Assistant Representative, Jiro wasn't all that surprised by what she had seen. "With twelve votes, our Assistant Rep will be Izuku Midoriya. In second with four votes is Eijiro Kirishima."

Aizawa, who had been sleeping on his desk at the corner of the room sat up with a yawn. "Yaoyorozu and Midoriya, report to the conference room on the bottom floor tomorrow morning at seven. There you will meet with the other classroom representatives and the principal to detail your duties. Before I forget, Friday we will be taking a field trip to the USJ, so start thinking about how your quirks could be used in rescue scenarios." He waited until both individuals nodded, then laid his head back down on the table. "Now, everyone get out, I'm going back to sleep."

Izuku stopped by the teacher's desk on his way out. "Dinner will be at seven." He got a noncommittal grunt from his teacher, but that only made him smile. "Will you be joining us again?" Another noncommittal grunt. "We'll be making chicken yakitori." Izuku grinned when the teacher's head snapped up.

"I guess it would be good for me to spend some time with my students." Aizawa muttered, trying not to sound too excited.

Izuku nodded and left to join Himiko who was waiting for him at the door. "Don't be late or I'll tell Miss Fukukado where your new apartment is!"

Aizawa spun rapidly in his seat, a threat on the edge of his tongue, but Izuku had already shut the door behind him and was out of sight. "He wouldn't dare, would he?" He whispered to himself. "Wait! How does he know about her?" Internally he began to panic, was Emi using his students to track him down now? That wasn't good for his nerves. "Maybe he doesn't know where I live and is just bluffing… Better not take the chance and show up on time." It wasn't worth the risk.

* * *

**[Unknown Location]**

"Brother, one of your informants sent an urgent message." A small child spoke hesitantly, their voice barely a whisper.

The man in which the child was speaking turned harshly towards the small child. "Well, spit it out then! As you can see, I'm a little busy here!" Fire billowed from the corner of his mouth causing the young girl to flinch away.

"The contract will be leaving the campus on Friday with a large portion of their classmates." The child informed their brother rapidly while keeping their head down.

"Have our informant gather as much information and get back to me by tomorrow evening." The man grew excited. He had been waiting for the woman to leave their safety net for over a month now. "Tell them we need everything they can get us. I want to know who will be there, their combat capabilities, where they are going, when they will be there and how long they will be at the location."

"Yes brother, I will send word immediately."

"Stop calling me that! Now leave me, I need to start pooling our resources." He broke out in a grin. "I can't wait to see how that bitch's parents react to the news!"

"Yes brother…" She whimpered.

"Get back to your room before Father see's you out." He quickly added, a shiver running down his spine. "He just gave me this body; I don't want to have to replace it yet."

* * *

**[With Izuku and Himiko]**

The trip to the bank was quick once they had changed and Izuku grabbed his laptop. During their trip, he sent a group message to Yu and Nemuri asking them to make some time to meet with him. He even went as far as inviting them to dinner if Yu could get the time off from her patrols since he knew Nemuri would be near campus anyways. He figured it would be best to just lay things out as soon as he could. The longer he waited, the higher the chances were that they would be angry, not that he expected any leeway. The two, along with Kamui Woods and Death Arms, had been really good to him after that time he had that initial confrontation with the Bakugo family in his apartment. He owed at least this much to them.

They took the train together back to his home town, where he had gotten a private room and shown her the video. She had watched it in silence a few times before asking to leave, not that he wasn't willing and had quickly put the thumb drive back in his safety deposit box and locked it up. The trip back was made in silence with Izuku letting Himiko process what she had seen while he himself hadn't been too bothered by watching the video again.

That wasn't to say that his emotions weren't boiling inside, but he knew he would be far angrier later on when he was alone. He felt it was better to wait until Himiko wanted to talk about it so they could work things out towards their plans with the blonde bastard. When they got back to the dorms Izuku gave his friend another warning to keep what she had learned to herself before she could run off and he went off on his own to start cooking.

The usual suspects showed up to help while he was cooking. Iida showed up to help prep because, as he put it, the menial task of cutting vegetables and meats gave him time to reflect on the day. Mina would flitter in and out to steal bits and pieces to snack on. Sato, unless he was stuck in a prior engagement, always showed up to help at some point. The final piece of the puzzle was Tokoyami who was always around whenever Izuku was cooking to talk to him and help pass the time by talking about anything and everything that came to mind.

That had been a fast friendship that he hadn't seen coming. In the few short weeks before classes had started, he hadn't had much interaction with the avian-like man. Now though, Izuku found he looked forward to their conversations while he cooked. It continued to amaze him how much Tokoyami would talk to him, but would be nearly silent during the rest of the day. The first time Dark Shadow had commented on how 'exceedingly dark' Izuku's soul was, threw the green-haired undead for a loop.

Today Tokoyami had thrown him another curveball. He had let on that Dark Shadow _wasn't_ his quirk, but hadn't been willing to say more on the matter unless they were in private. They had both agreed to set aside time to talk during the week in depth. Their conversation had immediately devolved into nonsense to pass the time while Izuku finished up.

Just as he was starting to plate up the food and had made the broadcast over the intercom, the three pro heroes he had invited walked in. Yu had shown up in her hero costume minus her mask and horns, claiming that she could only stay long enough to eat and have their chat before she would have to depart again.

As usual, dinner had been a rather wild affair. Several different conversations competing with one another to be the loudest, more than a few individuals forgetting their table manners, and Nemuri and Yu playing up their appearances to rile up the more excitable men in the class, kept it from being boring. Izuku took great amounts of pleasure in telling Bakugo that he would be responsible for cleaning up after dinner, despite the blonde's angry refusal.

Himiko's sudden fury at the blonde's refusal had made even the uncaring Aizawa jump as she threw a knife at him, the knife stabbing through his plate and into the table. She glared over at him and stormed over to snatch the knife out of the table then leaned in to whisper something to him that made him pale rapidly while she stormed back to her seat.

Conversation had picked back up after Bakugo quietly stomped his way into the kitchen where they could hear water start to run in the sink. Aizawa looked over to Izuku who was gently rubbing Himiko's head while she continued to grumble about stupid blondes. Izuku locked eyes with his teacher and gave off a harsh grin at the unasked question. "Himiko found out today that Bakugo used to bully me in primary school. She's taken a bit of exception to that."

"Should I be worried?" Aizawa droned out, though Izuku could tell that he was being serious despite his aloof demeanor.

"Nah, she won't do anything to hurt the guy, she'll get over it in time. Right Himiko?" Himiko grumbled a response and Izuku stopped rubbing her head. "Himiko." His voice came out a little harsher this time, more demanding.

"Nothing permanent." She finally relented.

"See? Nothing to worry about." Izuku smiled brightly. "Oh! You going to be around for breakfast again tomorrow?"

"Mr. Aizawa comes by for breakfast?" Yaoyorozu perked up from the other side of Himiko. "I've never seen him around."

Aizawa shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. "Depends on if I get called out on patrol tonight."

Izuku gestured with his utensils towards the recreation area just down the hall. "He passes out on the couch after patrols sometimes because it's closer than his apartment."

Aizawa grunted, quietly wondering just how much Izuku knew about him and specifically how he came about that knowledge. His apartment was under a fake name that only Nezu knew of in case of an emergency.

After Yu and Nemuri had their fill, Izuku offered for them to go off and have their talk. When they agreed he told Himiko that he probably wouldn't see her until class the following morning. She didn't look happy about it and he could tell that she wanted to talk about what she had learned throughout the day. He gave her a small smile and a nod, then led the two older women to the roof so they could have some privacy.

Immediately upon the door closing, Izuku started to feel sick to his stomach with guilt. "I owe you two a pretty big apology and an explanation." He said quickly before his nerves got the better of him.

"Huh?" Yu had pushed Nemuri down onto the ground before taking a seat in her lap before responding in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Izuku leaned against the wall next to the door and slid down it to sit down across from them. He went into a long explanation about how everything about him worked and what he had come to understand about his inability to process emotions and the repercussions of that, but withheld most of what he knew about his abilities to himself.

Then he went into vivid detail about how when he had heard and seen the men that worked with them during the time that they had been working together in their agency based in his hometown. He went on with how he had subtly tried to push them together, even going as far as to record conversations some of the men had when the women weren't around then send them to the two anonymously, how he had even accosted some of the guys they had been flirting with into getting them to leave Nemuri and Yu alone. That if he could just get them together, then he would be able to spend more time around just the two of them and in turn he could be happier.

"Before I had this thing strapped into my chest and got my head working right, I never really thought about what I was doing other than I didn't want either of you to deal with someone using you for your bodies. I thought it would be better for you two to be together." He admitted, continuing when the women across from him weren't speaking up. "I even started to do the same thing here with Himiko. I realized this morning what I had been doing and saw how messed up it was for me to do. That lead me to going over what I tried to do with you two and I felt that you had a right to know."

The three sat in an awkward silence for several minutes. Izuku didn't know what else to say and instead waited for Yu and Nemuri to absorb everything he had said. Eventually Yu spoke up. "That's… a lot to take in Zuku." She felt Nemuri's arms wrap tighter around her middle and she leaned back against her. "I'm pretty surprised to tell you the truth. I mean, yeah, I knew you were pushing for us to be together, but not to the extent that you were. The fact that you were recording conversations and even going as far as changing our patrol schedules so we would be paired up more often?" Yu snorted humorously. "We really should have seen it coming though. Can't say I'm too mad."

"What!?" Nemuri snapped out angrily, surprising Yu at the heat in her words. Izuku flinched, but truly he had been expecting it from at least one of them. Didn't make him feel any better to be proven right, though. "How can you not be mad? How is what he did any better than what some of those jerks were saying about us?!"

"Oh, I'm not arguing that." Yu responded, turning to sit sideways in Nemuri's lap so she could wrap her arms around the woman's neck. "I'm not happy with him, and we are going to have to find a way for him to make it up to us for twisting our arms. But, I'm not overly mad."

"Why not!" Nemuri was growing angrier.

"Because I'm happy with you, damn woman!" Yu growled out.

"So the ends justify the means? Is that it?"

"Fuck no! But that doesn't mean I'm not happy with you. He didn't do it to make it easier to sleep with us like some other guys would have, and what he did was wrong. He needs to make up for that. However, knowing it isn't going to stop me from being happy with you." Yu continued on. "It just makes it easier he isn't trying to sleep with us."

"Not isn't. Can't." Izuku spoke up to add in a little more clarification, keeping his face passive.

"What?" Nemuri asked in confusion, her momentum cut off from convincing her lover. Then she remembered exactly who they were talking about. "Well, yeah. I knew that, but that's not the point! What you did was still wrong!"

"I'm not arguing that!" Izuku snapped back, but took a long slow breath closing his eyes, knowing he didn't have a right to be frustrated. "Look, I know it was wrong. That's why I'm telling you about it now. I'm not asking to be forgiven, I just needed you to know what happened."

He didn't have time to react. Truly, he should have seen it coming, but he had been hoping that this would have been a conversation before it led to this. His first indication was a familiar sweet smell. His eyes snapped open to catch a glimpse of pink before it fully overtook his senses and he slumped down into unconsciousness.

Nemuri woke up her girlfriend by breaking a stick of smelling salts under her nose, the blonde waking up with a sharp gasp. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"You really intend to leave him here?" Yu asked incredulously.

Nemuri huffed irritably. "Not like he'll get sick from the cold. He'll wake up in a few hours and I don't intend to be around when he does."

Yu hummed, but ultimately acquiesced to her lover. "We should probably take the express route down; we don't need you attacking any of the others irrationally." Sending one last look at the green-haired young man she shook her head, then grabbed Nemuri in her arms and stepped over the side of the building, her quirk making short work of their descent. "Come on, you can walk me to the train station."

Izuku came to on the rooftop with a jolt. He looked up to see Toru standing over him with a frown. "What are you doing sleeping up here?"

He groaned and rubbed his eyes, guild washing over him once again. "Had a bit of a disagreement with Midnight after dinner and she knocked me out." He looked up at her finally. "What are you doing up here so early?"

Toru turned her back to him and looked out over the skyline at the rising sun. "I like to be up before the sun and my room is facing the wrong direction, so I come up here most days. It's usually cool enough that it wakes me up and get my blood flowing. I used to do this with my dad before I came here." She explained.

With a small smile, Izuku pushed himself to his feet. "I should head down and get some breakfast before class starts. Do you want anything?"

Toru shook her head and raised a mug up for him to see. "Just tea for me in the mornings, thank you." She watched him for a moment before continuing, worry marring her face. "Is everything alright? You look depressed."

Izuku flashed her the best smile that he could muster. "Don't worry about me, I'll be okay eventually."

"Well, if you say so. I'll be around if you ever need to talk."

"Thanks, Toru. I'd rather not get you involved though; I'd hate to see Midnight take her frustrations out on you. Anyways, I'll see you in class." He left quickly before she could question him further.

Toru, however, sipped her tea slowly while looking out over the horizon. The warmth of the tea settled in her stomach and she smiled, reminiscing about her early mornings with her father. He had always been her confidant during those mornings. Maybe it was her time to pay it forward to her green-haired classmate. He had done enough for her already; it was time for her to return those kind gestures.

* * *

**[U.A. Infirmary]**

Friday, before class, Izuku was once again standing in the infirmary with Recovery Girl poking and prodding him with her various gadgets. She was also glaring at him and muttering under her breath, but he was doing his best to ignore that because it reminded him of when he got too deep into his own muttering. Watching the old hero mutter as she worked gave him nightmares about his future if he couldn't get it under control.

"What you are doing is a physical impossibility, boy!" Recovery Girl slammed her clipboard down on her desk, glaring at the numbers that were written down in front of her as if they would tell her their secrets.

"I've been an impossibility for the past three years, why should it be any different now?" He grumbled to himself.

The short doctor spun and hit him upside the head with her cane. "I don't need your lip! This is serious! We need to keep this under constant observation. I have half a mind to keep you here until things slow down, or maybe I should just take that damn thing out of your chest."

Izuku groaned, then flinched when she glared at him brandishing her cane again. "It's not that bad, I'm conscious right?"

"Five inches in a week-" She started.

"I actually stopped growing Wednesday. Nothing yesterday or today."

A glare was his response for interrupting her. "I don't know how your body is holding up at this point. The high calorie diet we put you on is the only thing I can even hazard to guess could be an identifying factor." She was glaring back down at the numbers again, looking for any sign of a pattern. Nothing identified any change other than blood pumping through his veins. "How do you feel today? Any pain in your joints? How about your energy levels?"

Izuku had a pretty good idea about what was happening, but truthfully, he didn't know how much he should share. Instead he reserved himself to answer her questions to the best of his ability. "Honestly? My legs ache, but it's more of a tingling sensation than an actual ache. I've lost a lot of my flexibility, can't even reach my toes anymore."

"That's understandable, your hamstrings grew, you'd lose some elasticity even if it had been over a few months. Don't push yourself too hard and your range of motion will return." She nodded, writing down his response.

"No real pain though!" He perked up at that, he hadn't even thought about it! "But that might be because I feel really energized today! Could be my excitement for the rescue training that's keeping me distracted, but I'm hopeful things are going to start looking up from here on out."

"Have you used any of those boosters?" She looked up at him critically as the thought came to mind. She had told him not to touch the stuff because they didn't know how his body would react. "Don't lie to me, now. If you've been taking them, I need to know."

Izuku vehemently shook his head. "No ma'am, didn't want to risk anything. Didn't want the radiation to stunt the growth. You don't understand what it's like to be so short…" Her glare gave him pause. She was shorter than he was, so maybe she did understand. "Bad choice of words, sorry… But I feel a lot more normal now. I'm almost average for my class!"

Recovery Girl gestured for him to take a seat on the examination table while taking a seat herself to ease her own joints. The hero stared critically at the man in front of her, going over everything for what felt like the tenth time just that day. His temperature was still incredibly cold, but had increased marginally. That could be attributed to the blood slowly pumping now though, the movement heating up his extremities. The height change was worrying, but something in her couldn't help but be a little happy for him at his own admission.

"Okay, it's decided. It's time for some drastic measures." She spoke up suddenly. "When is your class supposed to be heading on the trip?"

"After lunch." He responded immediately with a grimace. The amount of time him and Yaoyorozu had to devote to adjusting their class' schedule for the next few weeks to accommodate joint class exercises had taken up a lot of his free time. "They are going over theory before lunch."

"Good, that should be plenty of time to check for side effects. I'll send word to your class rep that you'll be absent until it's time to leave." Recovery Girl nodded to herself. A couple of phone calls later had Yaoyorozu notified and Mei was on her way with a batch of his recovery boosters. Since it was her invention in his chest, she needed to be there to monitor it in case anything went wrong.

* * *

Izuku had decided to skip lunch. He knew he wouldn't have been able to sit still long enough to shovel any food into his mouth anyways so he had been given three high calorie protein bars for later. He was practically vibrating with energy, and had been since Mei had delivered the booster. Even Mei couldn't keep up with him right now and had begged for a break from their designing session in the infirmary. Not ten minutes into lunch, Recovery Girl had demanded he leave, but to come back immediately if anything felt wrong.

That was why he was currently standing on top of the main education building across from the lunch hall. Everything was on overdrive and he had found an outlet. Standing on top of the building, looking through the windows to where his class was sitting while eating their lunch, he was running through all scenarios for each of their quirks that could be of use in the upcoming trip.

He had even showed up at the Design Studio to see if his new costume was ready and was now wearing it. He was quite impressed with his year's support class. While they weren't inventive like Mei was, no one was as inventive as that crazy woman, they were very efficient and fast. Then again, maybe it was because his costume was just an outfit, nothing particularly special aside from his gauntlets and the collapsible staff attached to his back. The clothes were a little tight around the shoulders and his waist, but it wasn't anything to worry about today.

Before his thoughts could stray, for the tenth time in the last minute, a voice above him drew his attention. "You know, it's considered impolite to stare at people. Is that why you're over here, so they don't see you staring? Why aren't you at lunch? You look familiar, do I know you? Why are you in your hero costume? You don't look like any pro that I've heard of." The short, blue-haired woman hovered in the air above him. Upside down.

Izuku blinked. Then blinked again. And a third time before he finally took in the woman that was hovering mid-air. He gave her a once over, idly wondering how she managed to keep her skirt from flashing her undergarments while upside down. Must be part of her quirk. "I'm over here checking out my class, going over their quirks for our upcoming trip to the USJ. I'm not a pro, I'm a student in 1-A, and you do know me. Maybe not me, but we've met before, that's why I look familiar." He tried to slow down his words, he really did, but they shot out of his mouth faster than he had meant them to. Maybe he should go for a run to try and burn off some of this energy. Why had the booster done this to him? It had never given him this much energy before. Maybe Mei had improved on the design and that was what was messing with him. He'd have to ask her later.

The floating woman descended to just in front of him so that their eyes were in-line with one another, still upside down. Her eyes narrowed briefly before her face opened up in a large, bright smile. "I don't know how my skirt stays like it does, maybe it has some supernatural properties to it, haven't thought about that before. Oh! You talk a lot. I've been told I talk a lot too. But I don't think I mumble like that. Did you mean to do that and who's that Mei girl? Oh! I'm-"

"Nejire Hado." Izuku interrupted her quickly before taking a deep, calming breath. "And I owe you an apology." He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. "My name is Izuku Midoriya and I met you before even the first day of class. You blew up my bird out of the air. It wasn't right of me to take my anger out on you that day. I was having a bad morning and I took it out on you. Bird wasn't even alive, so technically you didn't kill it. I had temporarily reanimated it to help with my training."

"Ah, you're him!" Nejire spun around and dropped to the ground, the short woman bouncing on the balls of her feet just in front of him. "When you jumped away with that crying blonde girl, your friends told us about what had happened. I don't hold it against you, we all have bad days! Mirio says he wants to meet you again! You're not as short as you were back then! You were lots shorter than me, but now I have to look up to talk to you! You can call me Nejire!"

Izuku frowned. He knew he should apologize to the muscular blonde, but at the same time he didn't want to deal with the headache that followed everything All Might. An idea popped into his head and shot out of his mouth before he had a chance to filter it. "Can you tell Mirio something for me?" She nodded quickly, her hair falling in front of her face at how fast she nodded. "Can you set up a meeting between us? I would like to apologize to him and that other dark-haired guy you were with. I made a bad first impression and would like to remedy that."

Nejire hummed for a moment, looking around. Finally, she stopped searching with a huff and put her fists on her hips. "He usually shows up when people talk about him, he's got like this weird seventh sense about it."

"Don't you mean sixth sense?"

"Nope!" Nejire grinned.

Izuku didn't let the moment dissuade his hyperactive mind though. "Enough about him. Tell me about your quirk! You can fly! That's so cool! How do you do it?"

Nejire's mood instantly skyrocketed again and the two took up a very fast paced discussion about her quirk and he was writing down as much information as he could into a miniature notebook that he had pulled from one of his pockets. Their conversation only seemed to speed up the longer they talked, their words almost blending together up until the bell rang and they had to split ways to head to their designated classes.

At the designated meeting area, Izuku took the time to introduce himself to the bus drivers and thank them for their assistance. Yaoyorozu and the representatives for their sister class arrived together while he was busy looking under the busses, casually lifting the bus onto two wheels so he could see underneath.

"Izuku? What in the world are you doing?"

"Itsuka!" Izuku let the bus drop back into place with a crash and grinned over at his friend. "I'm just checking the busses for anything unsavory!" Trying to be as discreet as he could, he drank in the orange-haired heroine's figure, enjoying the way her corset hugged tight around her and her qipao teased him with what lay underneath. He quickly shoved his rapidly degrading thoughts out of his head, refusing to turn into a pervert. He was not like Mineta, he just had a healthy admiration of the female body!

Yaoyorozu frowned. "I don't think U.A. would hire any shady characters to transport their students, but I can see your need to be sure."

"Oh!" Izuku shook his head quickly and gestured towards the bus driver that was coming from the other bus to see what the commotion was. "I have no doubt that our drivers can be trusted, they are quite pleasant people. I'm just paranoid."

Yaoyorozu nodded her consent and Itsuka just shrugged her shoulders in acceptance.

"So how do you guys want to do this? Separate us by class, or make everyone mingle and play nice?" The green-haired woman asked, glaring playfully at Izuku, making it clear to him that he wasn't as subtle in checking them out as he had tried to be. The turquoise bodysuit that she wore glimmered as the light reflected from the scale-like material and he had to force himself to look at her in the eyes.

Lately, something had changed and he found himself admiring the women around him. '_Must be all the repressed feelings of attraction finally coming forward all at once._' He thought to himself. If he was completely honest with himself, he hated the thoughts. They got in the way at very inopportune times.

"We're already combining our training all week. I don't see why we shouldn't continue combing our classes. The better we know one another, the better our coordination will be in the future." Yaoyorozu nodded as she spoke.

"I agree. We should also split up so there is at least one rep from each class on both busses." Tokage added.

"Midoriya, we need to talk." Izuku froze. He nodded and turned, ignoring the looks of confusion from the three women he had been talking with, and followed his teacher towards the other bus. All the while that he was following her, he couldn't help but be anxious. She led him out of sight before turning to glare at him. His stomach flipped and he couldn't help but think of the previous times he had seen her throughout the week. She hadn't even deigned him with a comment or an insult. Instead, regardless of where they were, she had simply put him to sleep. In class, at lunch, even in the halls when they happened to be close. If he wasn't so anxious, he might have been impressed with her ability to target just one person in a crowd.

She stayed there, just glaring at him for several tense moments before Izuku drew up enough courage to speak. "Nem… Miss Kayama, how can I help you?" He couldn't keep the tremor out of his voice, but it was hard for him to tell if it was entirely from the sheer energy running through his veins, or if it was just compounding off the fear that gripped his chest. Probably the fear.

"Like it or not, we have to work together today." Her glare hadn't lessened. "All Might is tied up today so I'll be taking his place to assist the classes."

"Yes, ma'am." He said softly. "I'll make sure to stay out of your way." He didn't have to even think about why All Might wasn't going to make it to class. He already knew. All of the headlines were singing his praises for how many crimes he had stopped before their first class had even started.

"See that you do." She continued to glare at him, but he couldn't bring himself to look up into her eyes.

"Is there anything else, ma'am? I should go assist my class rep…"

Midnight seemed to be fighting the urge to just knock him out right then and there, but she held herself back. "Yu wants to talk to you after class today. You will come by my apartment once we are through, is that clear?"

Izuku nodded silently, not daring to say anything in case it made her rescind the offer. He waited a few more moments before she waved her hand for him to leave and he did just that, quickly heading over to where the other class reps were waiting.

He quickly pulled his ventilator to cover his frown and quickly masked his rampant emotions with fake confidence. "How many are we missing?" He asked after seeing several people on the busses.

"Mineta, Himiko, and Bakugo from our class. All of class B are already on the busses." Yaoyorozu stated, looking down at the list in her hands.

Izuku groaned behind his mask. He didn't like the sound of it being those three missing. Himiko must be up to something. He turned his head and looked towards the school. "Looks like Himiko had to stop by her room before meeting up with us. She's just leaving now."

Tokage quirked an eyebrow and looked where he was facing. "How could you possibly know that? The dorms are on the other side of the campus."

Izuku shrugged his shoulders. "Call it a hunch."

Soon enough, not but a few minutes later did Himiko show up following Bakugo. Himiko was skipping along happily in her costume, but Bakugo was glaring harshly and stalking forward, his gaze directly on Izuku.

Bakugo stopped in front of Izuku and grit his teeth. "You fucking told her?!"

Izuku grinned maliciously, though no one could see it, and Yaoyorozu spoke up curiously. "Told who what?"

"Nothing much. Himiko's just a bit of a romantic." Izuku explained, much to Yaoyorozu's surprise. "I couldn't help but tell her about what I learned! Our little mass murderer here has himself a crush on our perverted grape boy."

"I FUCKING DO NOT!" Bakugo roared.

"Don't be that way, Baka-go!" Himiko leapt forward to stand in front of the blonde. "I just want to help you express your love! You saw how stunned he was when we told him!"

Everyone watched as a stunned Mineta walked by them robotically, his face pale and expressionless.

"Silly little grape thought I was going to confess my undying love for him. You should have seen how he reacted when I brought him into where Baka-go was waiting and told him the real surprise!" Himiko gushed.

"I'M NOT FUCKING GAY! FUCK YOU BI-" Izuku's suddenly hard glare stopped his rant and instead he decided to shove his way past the crowd to get onto the bus.

"W-wow." Yaoyorozu blinked owlishly. "I can't say I ever saw that revelation happening."

"Kinda explains his attitude." Itsuka nodded along. "He's been unable to accept his own sexuality so he takes his frustrations out on everyone else."

"That's it! I have a new goal!" Tokage thrust a fist into the air. "Operation Exploding Grape Love is a go!"

"Name needs some work," Himiko said, "But I'm up to help!" The two shared a high-five to celebrate.

"Alright, alright. That's enough. Himiko you're with me and Itsuka on the front bus. Midoriya, you and Tokage keep the other bus in line, please." Yaoyorozu said quickly now that everyone was there. "Oh!" She stopped and turned to Izuku. "Channel two, I was getting interference on channel one earlier."

Izuku gave her a mock salute before pulling Tokage onto their bus and letting the driver know that they were ready. He took the free seat next to the green-haired vice rep and put a finger to his earpiece. "Yaoyorozu, how do hear?"

"…"

"Same, I'll pass word about the channel change to Mei." He quickly pulled out his phone and fired off a text to his inventor friend.

Tokage leaned closer to him with a grin. "So, I heard a little rumor from one of my sources that you've been having a bedmate. Thought you weren't going out with Himiko?"

"Himiko has nightmares most nights. Being close helps her keep them at bay." Izuku responded blankly, not playing into the woman's trap. "She's my friend, nothing more."

"Okay, so that explains Himiko. What about the other girls that you've been having in your bed this week?"

Izuku deadpanned over at Tokage. "I'm not inviting anyone to my bed. Himiko's to blame. They are there with her. Just so happens it's my bed she drags them to."

Her grin widened to show off her sharp teeth. "I haven't heard you complain about it."

"Then you aren't listening." Izuku shrugged his shoulders. He was exceedingly happy that his mask hid most of his face so she couldn't see the dark color staining his cheeks.

Toru leaned over Izuku's shoulder to stare down Tokage. "You learn pretty fast not to show up around his room when Himiko's sleeping, girl has a crazy grip when she's tired." She grinned brightly even though she knew Tokage couldn't see it. "Besides, I like a stiff mattress when I sleep and Izuku here is a wall of solid muscle, makes for a good substitute."

His eyes filled with mirth at what Toru said and he turned to Tokage again. "I'm sure Himiko and I can figure out something… I can think of a few things we could use your quirk for to make things more… interesting. I know Himiko wouldn't mind having you squeezed between the two of us."

Tokage's eyes widened, but her grin didn't falter any. "Don't offer unless you're serious." She slid her hand up his leg slowly. "Don't worry I won't bite, unless you want me to."

"Down girl." Toru giggled, leaning back into her seat. "Himiko won't like you encroaching on her territory."

Mineta, who was sitting across from the two, didn't comment. He continued to stare out the window with a far-off look. Izuku would have felt bad about it and truthfully, he probably should. But, he didn't. Not in the least. Because the short hero in training was a terrible pervert. Izuku had hoped that after his initial confrontation with him in the locker room would have dissuaded him, but it had made him smarter. Smarter in the way that Mineta was sneakier about it. And this whole thing hurt Bakugo, so that automatically made it okay with Izuku.

Izuku chuckled and took her hand off his leg and put it on her own leg, patting it gently. "Biting doesn't bother me; I'm used to it with Himiko already. She's like a damn vampire in the mornings." He turned and stared out the front window, his eyes narrowing in concentration.

"What is it?" Tokage's teasing attitude slipped into a serious demeanor instantly, indicating she knew when it wasn't time to be playful.

"Yaoyorozu forgot to turn off her mic." Izuku ran his hand through his hair. "Himiko's recruiting everyone on that bus for something, I'm only catching every few words."

"Any idea what it's about?"

"No, but… Well, she figured it out and muted their end." Izuku sighed. "I have a bad feeling about this. Every plan that damn woman makes always seems to come back to bite me in the ass."

Tetsutetsu poked his head up over the seat in front of the two class reps, his mouth agape in awe. "Just how do you manage to flirt with nearly every chick in our combined classes and survive?"

Izuku grinned and shook his head humorously. "Word about my… affliction… spread pretty fast. This is nothing more than a little witty back and forth, it's harmless. The girls know that."

Tokage leaned close and whispered to Izuku while keeping her eyes on Tetsutetsu, her voice quiet enough that her classmate wouldn't be able to hear her. "_Harmless my sweet ass, just say the word and I'll help you find out just how deep your affliction runs._"

A cough from the back of the bus had Izuku turning curiously to see Jiro blushing furiously in a coughing fit. Kirishima pat her back in concern. Izuku caught Jiro's eyes and watched in amusement as the woman's entire face lit up even brighter.

* * *

**A/N: So, Tokage is the Vice Rep for class 1-B. Since, to the best of my knowledge, canon never set one up... I just put someone there.**


	8. USJ

**Chapter 8: USJ**

**A/N: As everyone expected, the USJ is here! Thank you all for your reviews and for telling me where you see I messed up! I appreciate all the help and am doing my best to prevent plotholes! There are a couple of places where people have pointed things out that LOOK like plot holes, or inaccuracies with my story, but you'll just have to wait and see where they lead because they are in fact NOT plot holes. They will make sense when you see them!**

* * *

**[USJ]**

A short trip later the busses stopped outside an exceedingly large structure. Izuku looked up to see two birds circling overhead. Both were too small to be of use today, so he twirled his finger in the air and let them disappear over the top of the building.

Aizawa, Midnight, and Vlad King ushered the stunned students inside where a hero stood in a large white spacesuit. A series of loud squeals broke the awed silence. Hushed whispering overtook the students and the hero somehow gave off an embarrassed aura before they regained their composure. "Hello everyone and welcome to my arena!" The space hero called out loudly. "Welcome to the Unexpected Simulation Joint! My hero name is Thirteen and I will be leading you all through a series of exercises and scenarios in different environments to teach you how to properly rescue civilians and heroes alike!"

The class formed a semi-circle around the hero while the other three heroes walked up to their fellow teacher to stand shoulder to shoulder. "We do not have time for a tour, but we will be dividing the group into four groups and each group will head off with their designated instructor. We will rotate after the scenario has played out." Vlad King said while folding his arms across his chest. "Before we begin, are there any questions?"

"Will we be learning the basics of first aid while we are here, or is that set for another time?" Itsuka asked, taking the lead for her class.

"Very good question!" Thirteen cheered with their arms thrust above their head in excitement. "When we divide into groups, one of the groups will be designated towards learning the basics of first aid. Every time we meet here, we will be delving deeper into first aid. Make no mistake, this isn't a course that will teach you how to be a combat medic or a paramedic. We will be focusing on emergency care to stabilize casualties and ways to hold off the cold touches of death until properly trained medical personnel can show up."

With no further questions the class was split up into already decided teams. By design, each of the four teams had one of the class representatives in it and Yaoyorozu, thinking quickly, handed off a set of radios to class B's representatives with earpieces and were shown how to use them. Izuku and Yaoyorozu had been tempted to hand them out to everyone in the class, but they reasoned it wouldn't be beneficial to have forty voices in your ear while you tried to focus.

Izuku brought up the rear of his group while they followed Midnight over to a large platform that was littered with various medical supplies. Class B was quickly surprised by Midnight's cold demeanor towards their group, as opposed to her usual flirty and happy aura she gave off during class. Those from class A however were growing used to the hero's demeanor around their class.

"I'm going to get straight to the point." Midnight started seriously. "You are going to come upon life or death situations during your hero careers. You will see people die and you will see innocents get hurt. The reason we teach you emergency first aid so early in the year is that it is not just your duty to prevent crime and beat up the bad guys. More often than not you will be the ones first on the scene." Her harsh glare met everyone's eyes individually to make sure they all understood. "If you do not take this seriously, then that could be the difference between sending a little girl home to her parents, or having to tell her parents that she died while under your care."

The excitement diminished quickly, but Midnight gave them a brief reprieve of their moods. "However." Several of them perked up. "We are going to hammer this information into you again and again until you can do it in your sleep. Then we are going to do it again so that when you are panicking and freaking out, that you will not even have to think about what you are doing. Whatever you knew before today, forget it. We do not do things the same way that civilians do. We. Do. It. Better." An aura of determination swept through the class and they nodded. "Now, we've wasted enough time. Let's get started."

For the next hour, Midnight gave them the basics of how to check for a pulse, check the wounded's airway, and general steps of how to assess an injured individual's status. It was not a fast class and Midnight stressed the importance of each point, going as far to repeat what she said at least twice and answering all questions with a seriousness that many didn't know their teacher could express.

Each of the four groups rotated between Aizawa who was teaching about an aquatic rescue, Vlad King and his mountain terrain rescue, and Thirteen and their urban scenario. At the end of the four hours, all of the students stood together once again in the center of the building with all of their instructors debriefing them. Overall, it was a rather informative and tiring day, not just physically but mentally as well. The sheer mountain of information that had been dropped on them in such a short amount of time was enough for even Yaoyorozu to appear frazzled.

A soft chime rang out over the intercom, bringing a halt to Vlad King's speech. "Thank you all for joining us today at the Useless Strategy Joint!" The deep male voice rumbled out a chuckle at their joke. "I hate to interrupt your fun, but we would like to invite Miss Yaoyorozu to step away from her class and join my colleagues!"

A half dozen explosions blew the main entrance to smithereens. No sooner did the smoke dissipate did several figures dart through the new opening in a steady stream. In a matter of seconds, several dozen people of various sizes and appearances stood on the edge of the stairs.

"Don't listen to them." Vlad King snapped out while the four heroes quickly spread out to put the students behind them. "Everyone get into defensive positions and get ready for the worst-case scenario."

Aizawa spoke up next. "Kaminari, send out a distress call."

Kaminari snapped out of his stupor and quickly did as requested, but only got a buzzing sound in response. "No good, comms are jammed!"

"Yaoyo-"

"All frequencies are down, but I'll put a message on loop in case anyone breaks through the interference." Yaoyorozu spoke up, having already started the backup plan.

Izuku swore under his breath and looked up at the ceiling, where he could feel the two birds still sitting on top of the building. "Guess we're going old fashioned then." He pooled his power in his stomach and thrust his hand out before throwing it towards the general direction of the school. "Carrier pigeon message sent!"

"You can send messages through your birds!?" Kaminari cried out.

"No, but it won't take much for one of our teachers at the school to know something is wrong when a half-decayed bird shows up trying to get their attention. Nezu should be able to discern what's happening, he knows I'm here." Izuku frowned and furrowed his brows. He had already been supercharged before they had arrived, but he had put as much of his energy into the bird as it could hold so if this drug out for long then… "Himiko, give me a hand." Without looking away from the men on the stairs, Izuku dug into the pouch at his hip and tossed one of his boosters over his shoulder.

Himiko was beside him in a flash and snatched it out of the air before slamming it into place at the base of his neck. The effects were instantaneous and his body flashed in green energy before going back to normal.

"The fuck was that!?" Izuku didn't have to look back to recognize Monoma's voice. "You taking trigger or some kind of drug!?"

Izuku growled lowly in irritation but didn't answer. His focus was entirely on the unmoving men ahead of them.

"How many was that today?" Midnight spoke up, having caught the flash from the corner of her eye.

"Second one." He responded.

"Do not use one again, it'll put too much strain on your body." She snapped at him. She turned her head to glare at him for a moment before her eyes softened measurably. "We still need to talk with Yu later, you're not allowed to put yourself in a coma until after we talk."

"As you say, Midnight."

"Will someone explain what in God's name the abomination is doing?"

"Shiozaki. I understand you hate me, but right now isn't the time. It's a concentrated dose of radiation. It allows me to reenergize, but if I use it too much, I'll start to deteriorate." Izuku snapped back.

"While this is fun and all, I do believe I asked quite nicely." The voice over the intercom called out exasperatedly. "Momo Yaoyorozu, step forward and surrender yourself. Do so and we will let most of your classmates leave here without injury."

"Everyone stay where you are, let us take care of this." Aizawa pulled his goggles up over his eyes and crouched down. "Midnight, you're with me. Vlad, give us support from afar. Thirteen, take out anyone that gets past us." Without waiting for the other heroes to agree with him, Aizawa leapt forward.

Midnight was quick on his tail while Vlad King let blood erupt from his arms to solidify into spears before hurling them at increasingly fast speeds towards the villains. As one, the group of villains let out a battle cry and charged forward to meet Aizawa and Midnight head to head.

"We can't just sit back here and watch, can we?" Kirishima asked, flexing his quirk reflexively while he watched two of their teachers engage in hand to hand combat with several times their numbers.

"Midoriya, how's your aim?" Yaoyorozu asked quickly, ignoring Kirishima's question.

"Not terrible, but not great either. What's your plan?" Izuku asked quietly.

"Hold out your hand. Kendo, who in your class has a quirk that can act as a rapid retrieval?" Yaoyorozu asked while holding her hand over Izuku's.

"Shiozaki can extend her vines pretty far and has good control of them." Itsuka turned her head towards another of her classmates. "Reiko, how much weight are you able to pick up?"

A whispered response came from the silver-haired girl, too quiet for Izuku to hear, but he was focusing on the hard rubber pellets Yaoyorozu was filling his palm with. He idly felt the collar of his shirt being pulled down and a set of teeth sink into him sharply.

"Shiozaki, Tsuyu, and Hanta then. Each of you, when I give you the command, I want both of you to reach out and grab Midnight and Aizawa. Pull them back and out of the line of fire." Yaoyorozu started to pant while explaining her plan, but luckily Itsuka caught where she was going and picked it up from there.

"Izuku throws those projectiles to throw them off balance, then Honenuki can limit their mobility. Anyone else that can help from a distance to capture them would be beneficial." Itsuka said, taking a quick count of how many villains there were.

Midnight had taken advantage of those that were exposed by releasing her sleeping agent to quickly knock them out, but one of the villains was able to manipulate the air and was constantly sweeping away the pink smoke before it could catch anyone else.

"Todoroki." Izuku called out, seeing the chromatic boy a small distance away, snapping him out of his daze. "Once Honenuki does his thing, we need you to freeze all of them in a solid sheet of ice, can you do that?"

Todoroki grunted in acknowledgment.

Tokage darted over to Thirteen and explained their plan in hushed whispers.

"Himiko, take half." Izuku dropped some of the rubber bullets into her hand as it morphed and bulked up. "Don't aim for individuals, throw them like buckshot. Go full strength, I don't suspect anyone will be seriously harmed unless you hit them in the eye." Himiko grinned excitedly next to him.

Thirteen stepped forward and called out loudly. "Midnight, Aizawa jump! Don't fight what's about to happen!"

"Now!" Yaoyorozu called out.

Green vines and a pair of white tape shot forward, snagging the teachers out of the air and ripping them backwards. Izuku stepped forward, drawing deep into his energy stores, and swung his arm out at the same time Himiko did, a small shockwave knocking back those closest to the duo. Instantly, the bullets slammed into the group of villains. Izuku watched as, even though made of rubber, the bullets he had thrown flew clean through the closest ranks to slam into those behind them. Cries of pain rang out but were quickly drowned out by the sound of the ground rumbling and turning into quicksand under their feet.

Just as they began to sink, ice erupted from the ground in a solid block around the three dozen men, immobilizing them in an instant.

Silence hung eerily. Several tense seconds passed with nothing but ragged breathing. Izuku was the first to speak up again. "Monoma, good call borrowing Todoroki's quirk." The blonde in question blinked in surprise at the praise but nodded his appreciation at being recognized. Izuku turned to the highly surprised Aizawa and grinned at the bruise on his teacher's cheek. "Should have let us help from the beginning, then you wouldn't have had to get your ass kicked."

"Why are you all so happy? You took out the cannon fodder, the weakest minions we have!" Everyone spun around to see a blue-haired man standing next to what appeared to be his butler. "Kurogiri, be a good peon and bring out the next wave, would you?"

Three large black vortexes sprung up into place behind the duo. Once again, men began to stream out of them to line up, all of them grinning wildly and just waited to be unleashed upon the students.

"How far off is your bird?" Aizawa asked in a quiet tone.

"Should be there by now, it hasn't been moving for a few minutes so hopefully it's got someone's attention." Izuku whispered back.

"It wouldn't be wise to let them have a chance to plan." Kurogiri droned out emotionlessly. "What are your orders?"

"Split the children and send our friends with them, but leave the boy, we'll take him with us when we leave. Send the girl up to our friend as payment."

"I hate to state the obvious, but there are two of them." True to Kurogiri's words, there were two Yaoyorozu's standing side by side in identical outfits.

The blue-haired man scoffed. "Then send them both. Oh, while you're at it, bring out the toys. They can play with the pros while we wait for the boss to show up."

"It will be as you command, young master." The butler raised a hand and once again vortexes burst into existence under the class' feet and the fell through immediately. Before anyone had a chance to do anything except cry out in panic, everyone disappeared aside from Izuku and the four pro heroes.

Another blink of an eye later and two giant beings were standing behind the blue-haired villain and his butler. Izuku reasoned that they had to be a good head taller than even All Might and were bulging with muscles. They had large beaks and glazed over eyes, remaining motionless in their places.

"Midoriya, stay back. Let us handle this." Vlad King stepped in front of him to block his view of the villains.

"I think everyone is still inside the compound. Tokage is saying she's with some of our class in the mountainous range." Izuku told his teachers. "I'm going after the Yaoyorozu twins."

"That's not the smartest idea, they are after you and them." Thirteen debated back. "It would be best if they came here so we can protect them."

Aizawa was staring at Izuku dead in the eyes seriously. Neither spoke, but enough was said between the two. Aizawa nodded and darted towards the four villains. "Vlad, take one of the big ones. Midnight, you and Thirteen take the other two."

Midnight turned to tell Izuku to stay back again but barely caught sight of him darting away in the opposite direction of the villains. She cursed under her breath but turned to the more pressing issue.

* * *

Yaoyorozu let out a surprised cry of pain when her back slammed into the ground. With a gasp of breath, she scrambled to her feet, seeing a twin of herself in the same boat next to her.

"Oh goody! I can ask for twice the ransom at this rate!" It was the same voice from the intercom, belonging to a rather short… boy, dressed in an expensive-looking suit. He didn't look like he could have been any older than ten or eleven. Behind him stood two older men in expensive-looking suits with a bullet-proof vest underneath, both standing calmly, but by the tensing of their jaws, the two heroes-in-training could tell they were ready for an attack. "Now, it doesn't matter which of you is the real Yaoyorozu slut, but I would much appreciate it if you gave yourselves up so we could get on with our business. Father is waiting for us out front." Himiko had to keep herself from cringing. The deep voice did not match the small stature of the boy.

"You really don't think we're going to just give ourselves up, do you?" The cloned Yaoyorozu spat out. "We're going to kick your tiny ass and get back down to our friends to watch them kick your dumbass colleagues to hell and back." She crouched down and pulled a long blade from behind her back.

"Ah ah ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you." The boy pulled out a pistol and aimed it casually at the two. "Really I only need one of you and I while I would hate to have to kill one of you when we could just be the best of friends."

"Boss doesn't want the girl hurt." One of the two men stated calmly.

"No, he said to return her in one piece. He never said anything about tenderizing her before she was delivered." The boy had turned to look at the man that had questioned him.

Yaoyorozu took the opportunity while he was facing away from them. Her chest glowed a bright yellow and she pulled out a long staff. "Together, Momo." She tried to keep up the charade that there were two of her, hoping to distract them long enough for the two heroes-in-training to get the upper hand.

A loud crack deafened Himiko momentarily when the gun in the boy's hand shot, the ground in front of her feet breaking and sending up a small shower of dirt and rock. The boy hadn't even turned towards them when firing. "Don't try it. Neither of you is in a position of power here."

Himiko tensed herself, ready to move. Not a second later the glass windows off to the side shattered and a black and green body flew into view. Himiko watched the panic erupt across the boy's face and he pulled the trigger on his pistol. She moved in a blur, bodily shoving Yaoyorozu out of the way of the bullet only to get hit herself in the shoulder. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

She blinked and saw that Izuku was standing in front of her and Yaoyorozu while staring down the boy. "You don't know how big of a mistake you just made, kid." Izuku growled lowly.

"Mistake?" The boy quickly regained his composure and grinned darkly at the newcomer. "I'm not the one standing at the end of a gun. It seems like you've made the mistake here today. You see, these bullets aren't your average bullet."

Himiko let out a strangled cry and her form bubbled before melting back into her original form, completely devoid of clothing. Izuku spared a glance over his shoulder before hunching down as he prepared himself to attack. "What did you do to her?"

"I stopped her quirk!" The boy cheered. "With these bullets, they temporarily remove people's quirks! So not only do they hit you like an actual bullet, but they stop you from being able to fight back!"

"Is that all?" Izuku chuckled darkly. "Be a good kid and put the gun down. I don't have a problem breaking you in half."

"PUT MY GUN DOWN?!" The boy yelled. "Don't make me laugh!"

Izuku's eyes darted between the trio. The boy was still pointing the gun at him and the two men behind him were fingering guns at their hips as well. With Himiko already shot, he would have to make sure that he was in front of them just in case the kid flew off the handle. He had no idea what the two men's quirks were but knew that if push came to shove, then he would just simply punch his way through them.

Izuku was brought out of his thoughts when a piercing sensation hit his gut. The boy was laughing, but Izuku just blinked and cocked his head to the side. '_Time to play up my immunity._' He thought to himself with a low, rumbling chuckle. "Is that the best you have? I've been shot before and that little peashooter of yours isn't gonna cut it this time." He slowly stalked forward.

The boy began to panic and continued to fire. The two men pulled out their pistols at the same time and fired as well. His chest and arms were riddled with wounds, but they healed over within seconds. Izuku's head rocked back when one of the bullets hit him in the forehead, making him pause. Both men let out a sigh of relief while the boy laughed hysterically, conveniently ignoring the fact that Izuku was still on his feet. Yaoyorozu screamed his name in fright.

After a full thirty seconds passed, Izuku felt his consciousness come back. "Yaoyorozu, stay with Himiko." Everyone was surprised to hear his voice and the laughs and screams stopped in an instant. He rolled his head forward, giving the three a clear view of Izuku's skull piecing itself together rapidly.

"You see? I don't have a quirk that can be stopped by your puny attempts!" Izuku darted the short distance remaining between them and grabbed the gun from the boy, quickly bending it into an unrecognizable shape before tossing it back towards the two women on the ground.

The two men burst into action, shoving the boy behind them. One of the men closed his eyes and when they opened, they were completely red and scales burst out from his skin, the arm of his suit bursting into shreds as it morphed and expanded, his fingers turning into talons.

Izuku twisted out of the way of the red clawed man and grabbed his staff from his back. As soon as it left its holster, the metal rod extended to its full six-foot length with a snap. Continuing his spin, Izuku slammed it into the side of the man's head, sending the scaled man slamming into the wall.

No sooner did the attack connect did Izuku hear Yaoyorozu's warning cry. He spun to his right, away from the two women, and brought up one of his arms to protect his head. A bright white explosion blew out what was left of the windows, blinding him and knocking Izuku into the wall next to him.

He quickly pushed to his feet, blinking rapidly to clear the spots from his eyes. He saw the black shape of someone standing up, and taking a gamble that it was one of the two men due to how close they were, Izuku grabbed him by the head and slammed it into the wall that he knew was still next to him. He didn't let up though and, while still keeping ahold of the man's head, spun and, upon finding the windows close by, threw the man through them with all of his strength.

Izuku was once again knocked down when he was tackled around the waist. The familiar feeling of Himiko pressed into him was enough for him to not attack her, but Yaoyorozu's warning yell made him roll them over. A searing hot fire slammed into his back and he could feel the fire quickly burn through his clothes and start to blister his skin.

Just as quick as the attack came, it stopped and he jumped to his feet. The boy was standing on the other side of the room with a grin on his face. "I have more at my disposal than those bullets kid! Let's see you dodge this one!" The boy leaned back, his cheeks puffing up, before throwing himself forward to let fire bellow out of his mouth.

Izuku scooped an arm around Himiko and leapt out of the way. He skid to a halt next to where Yaoyorozu was standing, Himiko's dropped knife held in her hand while she stood at the ready. Izuku dropped Himiko to the ground and leapt off at the boy, his fist pulled back.

Suddenly panicking, the boy reared his head up again to spit fire again, but Izuku darted across the short distance in time to point the boy's head straight up so the fire blew into the ceiling harmlessly.

"I think it's time for you to take a nap!" Careful to adjust his strength so as not to kill the kid, Izuku slammed his fist into his stomach and watched the kid's hazel eyes flicker before dimming into unconsciousness.

Izuku turned quickly, checking for enemies. He found one of the men, the one that had transformed, lying on his back and tied up, his face black and blue and his eyes glazed over in unconsciousness.

"You two alright?" He asked after releasing a shaky breath. The fight couldn't have lasted more than half a minute, but he was still pumping with adrenaline and ready for another fight. He looked over to see Himiko pull out a cube from her pouch and press a button, a copy of her hero costume popping into existence. She looked a little pink from the heat of the flames, but appeared okay so he turned his head to allow her some privacy.

"Are we okay?!" Yaoyorozu darted over to him and began to inspect his back. "I don't think you realize how lucky you are with that regeneration thing you do. I saw your back before you leapt back at the guy, he burnt you down to the bone, if you were anyone else… You would have died, or at least turned paraplegic." Her hands danced along the skin of his back while it stitched together.

"I'll be alright." Izuku brushed off her worry. "We have bigger things to worry about. Himiko, how's your shoulder?" He made his way over to her when it looked like she was having trouble getting her costume back on.

"Hurts like a bitch, but I'll live." She growled out. She shot him a thankful look when he helped her into her costume. "Try not to stare." She teased.

Izuku flicked her forehead, but grinned. If she was trying to crack jokes, then she would be alright.

In a few short minutes, the two remaining villains were secured and it looked like they weren't going anywhere. "We need to get back to the others, we can send someone up after these two once everything has settled down."

Yaoyorozu looked out the broken window and paled. "You jumped up here from all the way down there?"

"You two were in trouble, and they are trying to kidnap you Yaoyorozu-"

"Momo. I think after today, we're well enough acquainted to use first names." Momo offered with a small smile and, if his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, a rosy blush on her cheeks.

"Alright then, Momo." He nodded with a small smile. "Anyways, both of you grab hold, I'll jump down there and we can get back to the others."

* * *

By the time Izuku had brought the three of them to the entrance of the facility, a few of his classmates had arrived as well. Off in the distance he watched as all four of the pro heroes were being knocked around by the two hulking figures. "Todoroki, you and Shiozaki are with me. Stand at a distance and be prepared to help where you can, don't get close."

"What are you, stupid?" Shiozaki snapped, but he could tell it was more out of fear for their teachers than anger at him. "What can we possibly hope to do when four pros aren't able to do a thing?"

"I hate to admit it, but she's right." Todoroki said emotionlessly. "The best we can hope for is that the other heroes show up. If you go down there, you'll just get yourself killed."

"I can't die like that, Todoroki. I know you saw what was left of me after that first villain incident, besides, I'm stronger now. But, if you aren't willing to help, then just make sure everyone else stays back. Todoroki can block off a path if one of them gets hurt and Shiozaki, you can pull them away. You can't do that from here, so you need to get closer." He turned and locked eyes with the single person that he hated most in the world. "Bakugo, stay near Momo, they're after her."

Bakugo grunted but nodded his acceptance. Izuku glared but had to admit that as much as he hated the blonde, he knew Momo would be in good hands with Bakugo protecting her. "If anything happens to her under your care… I'll tear your arm off and beat you with it, do you understand?" His voice was coiled fury. "Himiko, watch him."

He locked eyes with Momo for a moment. "Take count of who is here, send out a search party for the others, there's no telling what could happen to them if the villains get their hands on them. Just steer clear of the fight down there."

With that said he darted forward, the ground cracking under his feet as he pushed more and more energy into his legs.

Aizawa brought his arms up to block the fist coming his way, making sure to keep his eyes locked onto the bird creature to stop its quirks. The punch still sent him skidding back. Before he could make a move to counterattack, Izuku burst past him and with a roar of determination he slammed his gauntleted fist into the still outstretched arm. The pro hero blinked in surprise when the creature's arm exploded from the shoulder down.

In the time between blinks, the arm had already started to regrow and was on the offensive again with his student deflecting the next punch, using the creature's extended arm and momentum to flip it over and slam it down on it's back. Aizawa was quick to squash his surprise. "Midoriya! You shouldn't be here! These things aren't human anymore, they have multiple quirks, get back to the class and get everyone out of here!"

Izuku wasn't listening and he watched as a far-off look entered his eyes at the same time as a feminine scream pierced the air around them. Aizawa turned his attention to see that the second creature had Midnight held in its giant hand and had squeezed. He watched in horror as her body went limp before it was thrown out of the way, fast enough to crack the concrete wall she slammed into. He didn't have time to check on her because the creature at his feet was healing rapidly and he needed to focus.

Izuku watched in horror at the unmoving body of the woman he would consider an older sister, even still despite her recent hatred of him. He took off running, ignoring the two creatures and three remaining heroes as he went.

Shiozaki and Todoroki arrived first as they were closer from where they had been waiting, sliding next to the woman and quickly rolling her onto her back while they started to check her over. "She's not breathing and I can't find a pulse." Todoroki was able to keep a passive expression, but the tensing in his shoulders gave way to how he actually felt.

"I'm feeling a lot of broken bones across her chest, if we try to give her CPR, there's a chance one of the broken bones could pierce an artery, or her heart itself." Shiozaki was far less composed and had started to panic.

Sliding between them, Izuku threw his gauntlets off and tossed them off to the side. Her usually bright blue eyes were dull and lifeless and dread filled him. "No, no, no, this isn't happening…" He mumbled to himself.

The two other students watched as Izuku seemed to follow something with his eyes before reaching out and grabbing at something in the air. They watched as his hands latched onto something that they couldn't see, his muscles flexing and his veins bulging in the strain he was putting out. "I'm not letting you go!" He yelled out, but they could see that whatever he was holding was starting to pull him up despite his immeasurable strength. His eyes were wide with panic and his breath was coming out rapidly. "Shiozaki, Todoroki, I need your help!" He cried out frantically.

Todoroki was confused but tried to help grab onto whatever Izuku was holding, but his hand passed through the space between Izuku's hands, unable to find purchase. Shiozaki's vines passed through just the same.

"Fuck!" Izuku cried out, realizing they might not be able to help him physically.

A shadow passed over them and Izuku looked up in time to see his avian classmate latch onto the side of the wall. "Dark Shadow!" The dark entity burst from Tokoyami's back reached out and latched onto the space between Izuku's hands. The green-haired man's eyes widened exponentially as with Dark Shadow's help; the movement slowed to a stop just before he could be pulled from his feet.

"Shiozaki, in my pouch on your side, I have more of my boosters. I need you and Todoroki to each use one on me!" Izuku called out.

"Didn't Midnight tell you that any more would tear your body apart?" Todoroki asked while Shiozaki dug through his pouch.

"Shut up and do it! Put the prongs into my skin and hit the button in the middle of it!" Izuku instructed, feeling Todoroki stab one into his exposed arm while Shiozaki stabbed hers where she had seen Himiko use one before. She wouldn't normally help someone like him, but this could mean life or death for their teacher and the unnatural amount of desperation that laced his voice made her hold back her usual barb, so she had to at least try. "As soon as you hit the button, get back! There will be too much energy around me and it might hurt you! Same for you Dark Shadow, I don't know what this stuff will do to you!"

Both activated simultaneously and Izuku began to glow neon green. He began to scream in pain, his clothes burning away even more than before and his skin started to erode at a frightening pace, his back hunching over. They watched as he physically fought with whatever was in his hands and brought it back down to their teacher. As soon as the downward movement started, Tokoyami and Dark Shadow leapt off the wall to gain distance.

When his hands made contact with her once again, the three watched in equal parts fascination and horror as he held one hand to Midnight's chest while his other seemed to pull a darkness from his own chest. Izuku's screams intensified until the darkness split, one being absorbed back into his body while his other hand brought the black substance to Midnight, his hands joining together again.

The effects were immediate. Nemuri's eyes widened, regaining their color, and she gasped out a breath before screaming in pain. After a few seconds her cries died out and her eyes fell on Izuku. "Please don't hate me, Nem, I had to do it. Please don't hate me." Tears rolled down his cheeks. His fear keeping him from realizing he had referred to her as he had.

Todoroki was back by their side and checking her over a few moments later. "Her bones are still broken and she still doesn't have a heartbeat. Midoriya, what did you do?"

"Get Yaoyorozu over here and have her make something to jumpstart her heart. If she can't do it, find Kaminari to try and give her a jolt. I don't know how long I can keep her here like this." Izuku ignored his question, shooting a look over his shoulder at the three heroes fighting. He could see that the two other villains were just standing there, watching and taunting the heroes. He looked back down at Midnight. "I'm gonna go end this, okay? We still need to have that talk later. Now, it's time I do something really dumb."

He didn't give her a chance to respond, nor did he listen to the two others calling out to him. He stood up and darted off towards the battle taking place. He darted up next to Vlad King and assisted his teacher just in time to deflect a punch. "Midnight's going to be okay, have you found a way to stop these things yet?" Izuku asked wearily.

Vlad King frowned, shoving Izuku aside as the Nomu's fist burst through the space he was just occupying. "Whatever these things are, they don't think for themselves, they only do what that guy over there tells them to do."

Izuku looked up just in time to bring his arms up to block an attack, grimacing in pain as he felt the bones in his arms crack under the pressure. He cursed under his breath at not having grabbed his gauntlets again. Looking up, he locked eyes with the Nomu. Izuku's eyes widened in realization a split second before the Nomu kicked him in the chest. The hero-in-training flew backwards and slammed into the stairs in front of the students. A sickening crunch echoed through the building upon impact.

The blue-haired man started to laugh hysterically. "Our Nomu are specifically designed to kill All Might, what did he think was going to happen?! I don't know what he did to help the stripper, but I think I've had enough fun. Let's see how many we can kill before All Might shows up! Nomu, _kill_."

Izuku could feel several hands touching him, checking up on him, using the limited first aid they had learned. He groaned and pushed their hands away. Their voices were muddled into a loud buzz as he forced himself to his feet. Everything hurt. His vision was growing fuzzy. He took a slow step forward and his knee nearly buckled from the pain, several hands grabbing him to prevent him from falling.

"Zuzu, stop!" Himiko's voice cut through the buzzing sensation. "You've done enough, let us help!"

"I know how to stop it." He said emotionlessly, pushing everything aside except his desire to fight. "I just need to get close again."

"You aren't going anywhere! If you try, you may not wake up this time! Whatever you did with Midnight took everything you have!" He didn't have to see her tears to know she was crying.

"Then make sure to catch me when I fall." Izuku pooled together what energy he had left and leapt forward, his body moving in a blur across the rubble.

Leaping into the air, he landed on the back of the one currently locked to a standstill against Vlad King. "Alright, you stupid soulless piece of shit. Let's see how you like being tossed around!" Climbing up, he looked over its head and into the eyes of the creature and felt a pull on his consciousness.

Everyone watched as Izuku's body went limp and slumped to the ground at the same time that the creature stopped fighting Vlad King. Izuku spasmed on the ground, his eyes rolled back in his head.

"Zuzu!" Himiko's cries were accompanied by several of his classmates.

"Stupid! Pathetic wimp passed out from just looking at it! As expected from a wanna-be hero!" The blue-haired man cackled with glee.

The Nomu locked in battle with Vlad King blinked a couple of times. Finally, it pulled away from him and turned to where Aizawa and Thirteen were locked in battle with the other Nomu. In a blur of pure speed, it tackled its counterpart away from the heroes and started to tear into it. Arms were torn from the one lying on the ground, but it wasn't fighting back, only making attempts to get up and attack the heroes again. The one on top took advantage of it and started to pummel it into the ground. The attacks were coming fast enough that it didn't get the chance to regenerate before it was hit again.

The blue-haired man and his butler watched in confusion as their creation tore apart its brother before digging into its exposed brain and tearing away chunks of it. He quickly tried to command the creature to stop, trying several different iterations of the command, but nothing was getting through.

No one moved as the beating continued for several minutes, everyone watching on in horror and confusion. The heroes stood together, ready for things to change again and for the creatures to attack them.

"Young Master. We need to leave. I don't know what has happened, but they are no longer under our control." Kurogiri whispered. "It would be best to cut our losses now. If All Might shows up and we don't have either of the Nomu under our control, we won't be able to make it out of here alive."

"Cheaters! I'll kill all of you! Just you wait and see!" He held up his hand, and with a glance to the man next to him, thrust it through a portal. The other side of the portal opened up in front of the last standing Nomu. Its head snapped up and saw a hand latch onto its head. Its beak opened up in a soundless scream as it began to decay. Just before it went limp, Izuku sat up with a gasp.

Turning over on shaky hands, Izuku threw up. His back continued to spasm and warp.

"Grab the boy and get us out of here!"

Despite his delirium, Izuku saw a portal open under him, his eyes widening in horror. As he fell he felt something sharp and rough wrap around his chest and wrench him out of the portal, throwing him away from the portal. When he hit the ground, he rolled roughly along the ground, his clothes shredding further. By the time came to a stop and looked up, the two villains were gone. He had no idea the amount of time that had taken place, only the skull shattering pain held his attention. Eventually the pain ebbed away along with most of his energy and he could hear a commotion coming from the entrance, but he just continued to stare at what was left of the Nomu. Suddenly, reality crashed back into him and he stood up on wobbly legs, quickly looking around for the two people he needed to see.

Over on the stairway were over a dozen pro heroes breaking the ice and locking up the villains while still more were running off into the different disaster training areas at the direction of the students. His eyes eventually fell on Nemuri who had Recovery Girl standing over here with Shiozaki, Todoroki, and Himiko right next to them.

Everything around him moved faster than he could keep up with, people running around, others barking commands, and it was all he could do to limp over to his teacher and friends. "H-how is she?" He asked weakly when he got close enough.

"We got her heart restarted." Recovery Girl offered. "I don't know what you did. The readings I'm getting make it look a lot like what you have going on." She took in his appearance. His clothes were tattered and stretched across his skin, most of his exposed skin covered in either dirt or what she assumed was his blood. His back was hunched and he looked like he was barely able to stand with how frail he was looking.

He nodded weakly, his eyes locked onto Midnights who was looking at him in equal amounts of confusion and awe. "Shiozaki…" He didn't see the woman look over at him, but he could feel her eyes on him. "Thank you for helping me bring her back. But you were right that first day you met me, I found that out today, so please accept my apologies." He kept his voice low but knew she could hear him.

The vine-haired woman cocked her head in confusion, thinking back to their first encounter. She could easily remember seeing the dark aura around the boy and had certainly been wary of him, despite his best efforts to help her class. He had been friendly and non-combative with her, even when she had taken to insulting his existence. When she had found out about his necromancy with animals, that had only cemented her beliefs. Before today she would have accepted his words as an admission of guilt. But, after seeing him in so much pain and how desperate he had looked… at how far he was pushing himself to help their teacher, she didn't know if she believed that anymore.

"I'm so sorry, Nem. I didn't see another way to do it and I hope one day you can find it within yourself to forgive me." He whispered down at the violet-haired woman, tears leaking down his eyes.

Once again, things moved in a blur around Izuku as he was pulled aside by a medic to get looked over, but they couldn't find anything physically wrong with him other than his obvious case of exhaustion. He only finally came around when a large shadow passed over him. He looked up to find All Might standing over him. A snarl crossed Izuku's lips. "It always comes back to you, doesn't it? Everything bad that has happened to me in the past three years has your name written all over it."

All Might seemed to flinch in surprise at the sheer venom at his student's words. "I'm sorry you feel that way, young Midoriya."

"Nemuri should be dead right now. And that would be your fault." Izuku growled. "If you weren't off galivanting and playing hero for petty crimes, then she would never have been hurt by people looking to kill you. She was only here because of your carelessness."

All Might frowned but nodded his head. "I know this. I wanted to stop by and thank you for doing what I could not."

"Chase any more villains in trucks through a busy city today?" Izuku asked with a frown. All Might blinked in confusion but shook his head. "Good, we don't need any more casualties from your heroics."

With a groan, Izuku slipped off his seat. "Hopefully Mirio will be more dedicated to his job than you currently are." Izuku walked around the stunned hero and made his way over to where Himiko was sitting on a stretcher, the bullet having been removed from her shoulder and rewrapped.

"Things going okay over here?" He asked tiredly. He noticed Himiko looking at him strangely. "What?"

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me." She stood up in front of him and it was then that he realized he was looking down at her by a great deal. It was surprising and if he was honest, infuriating. He really needed to talk to Recovery Girl when things calmed down.

"Well, that explains why my shirt feels so damn tight, I had thought it was just irritating from the fighting." He grumbled, shifting from one foot to the other. "How's the shoulder? You never answered me." He asked, changing the subject.

Himiko glared at him, proving she could see his deflection for what it was. "Recovery Girl fixed me up after they dug the bullet out of me, but insisted on letting my muscles rest for the weekend to heal naturally."

Izuku hummed happily knowing that she would be okay. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you need to sleep with Momo tonight."

Himiko flashed a flirty grin. "Want me to share the stories after I do?"

Izuku groaned. "She just had a kidnapping attempt on her, she needs someone familiar to stay by her side. Don't make it weird, just be there for her."

Himiko's smile dropped. "I'll do my best for her. What about you? Are you still going to talk to Midnight and her girlfriend later?"

"No." He shook his head sadly. "I need to give her more space than I was before, she has a lot to think about."

"You saved her though, don't you think you should at least stop by to make sure she is okay?" She didn't like the noncommittal hum he let out, but she let it be. "If I'm with Momo, who is going to take care of you?" She teased with a small smile.

Izuku chuckled to himself. "I'm a big boy, Himiko. I'll be okay."

Everyone in the class was quickly questioned by the police once they arrived on scene, giving eyewitness testimonies to recount the incident. Nearly the entire class had gotten away with minor injuries, mere bruises, and abrasions, nothing physical that would last. The only thing that worried Izuku was that the boy in the control room hadn't been there when the police went to detain him.

* * *

** [1-A Dorms]**

Yu Takeyama was not an irrational person. She was mature enough to acknowledge that in her younger years as a pro hero, that she had been very impatient and rather moody, but she had never been one to blow things out of proportion. But when she heard that her girlfriend had DIED, all bets were off. She had knocked over more than one student in her way when rushing through U.A.'s halls. She had even bowled over All Might at one point in her single-minded objective.

She was even mature enough to admit that even upon seeing her lover sitting on the infirmary bed, she had bawled and screamed. She felt that she had even been more emotional than Nemuri was, though that might be because of the shock.

When she had found out that Izuku was the reason that Nemuri was still alive, she was torn between hunting him down and thanking him and staying beside her girlfriend. Eventually, the need to make sure Nemuri was alright won out and, despite Recovery Girl's warnings, she had climbed up into the bed to hold the woman most important to her.

She would get her chance to thank the green-haired young man when he stopped by to check up on them, or so she had thought. Waking up Saturday to find out that he hadn't stopped by had irritated her, but she understood that he needed to process his thoughts on the incident.

When they were discharged Sunday morning however, she was positively incensed. She had grumbled and complained to herself the entire way to Nemuri's apartment just off campus about how rude and stupid her adopted brother was. Damn kid was even ignoring her phone calls. Once she settled Nemuri down on the couch, she had quickly set off to track him down and demand answers out of him.

So, when she stormed into his dorms, she wasn't surprised when everyone present in the common area jumped in fright as she kicked the front door in. "Where's Zuku?!" She yelled at the nearest student, some redhead with sharp teeth.

"Ummm, I don't… Who are… What?" Kirishima stuttered out.

"Izuku Midoriya. You know, green-haired shorty. About five foot two, fluffy and curly hair, cold as ice to touch, and weighs way too much for someone his size." She glared at the redhead who seemed to be catching on the longer she spoke.

"I wouldn't know, he hasn't been talking to anyone since the incident. Hardly ever stops by." Kirishima looked upset at that.

Yu grumbled a few curse words under her breath. "Does anyone know where he is?" Her eyes darted around at everyone in the room.

"It is best advised not to confront him at this time." Yu snapped her head over to see an avian headed person. "Please give him space."

"Yeah? And why is that?" She asked hotly.

"Izuku is coming to terms with what happened at the USJ. More than any of us, he deserves his space." Tokoyami continued, not backing down from the irate woman.

"Look." Yu let out a huff as she visibly deflated. "He's like a little brother to me. He didn't stop by to see Nem when she was in the hospital, I just need to check up on him. Just tell me where his room is and I'll try not to antagonize him."

Tokoyami stared at the woman for a few tense moments before nodding. "You should be able to find him at Training Ground Gama. Toga should be there as well, watching over him."

Yu departed without another word. Even though Training Ground Gama was on the other side of the school, her quirk made the distance negligible. She shrunk back down as soon as she saw the blonde girl sitting on a stack of mats at the edge of the track, stopping next to her. "I was told you know where Zuku is?"

Himiko nodded and pointed off at the opposite side of the track where Izuku had a barbell across his shoulders and was slowly making his way around the track doing lunges. "He's been at it almost nonstop since yesterday morning." Izuku was only wearing a pair of shorts and trainers, but Yu could see that his shirt was sitting next to Himiko along with a few bottles of water.

"What is he doing? Just working out? That's why he didn't come to see Nem after she died!" Yu's temper flared once again.

Himiko however didn't rise to the accusation and instead replied calmly. "Whatever he did to revive Nemuri broke him. He hasn't given me anything to go off of, but I've known him for long enough. I recommended he go see you two, but he wants to give you space. He seems to think that you would hate him for what he did."

"I already told him that I didn't care about all that!" Yu threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "I already convinced Nem that we were going to move on from all that."

Himiko hummed noncommittally. "I don't mean him getting you two together. From what I gather, when he revived Midnight, he did so without restarting her heart. He's afraid she'll hate him."

"But… what? How is that even possible?" Yu deflated rather quickly at the reminder of her lover's death.

"Maybe he'll tell you about it, he hasn't explained any of it to me. The only reason I know is from the three that were there when he did it. Tore something out of his chest and put it into her." Himiko looked up at the woman standing next to her. "Has Midnight told you about those boosters they made for him for emergencies?"

"Yeah, Recovery Girl said he took too many and it hurt him."

"Did more than hurt him, it tore him apart from the inside out. He was willing to die to bring her back, I can't imagine why he thinks you guys will be mad at him for that."

Izuku was nearly to them by that point, but his head was down while he continued his workout. The two women watched while he stopped and stretched, noticing the grimace on his face as he did so. It didn't last long however before he adjusted the weights on the barbell and started curling the bar.

Yu frowned. "Izuku was never this tall before the attack. What happened?"

"Recovery Girl's best guess was that the sheer number of boosters he used, along with straining his body to its limits… It was breaking down just as fast as it was being put together and it resulted in his sudden growth."

"Damn, that couldn't have felt good. He barely looks like the same kid he was before. What is he now?"

"Just over six feet." Himiko pushed off the mats and pulled Yu along with her towards her friend. "It'll be good for him to see you to know you don't hate him."

"Hey Zuku." Yu called out to them when they got close.

Izuku continued with his exercise, sweat dripping from every extremity. His eyes were glazed over and he didn't acknowledge their presence.

Yu frowned and stepped up in front of him, snapping her fingers in his face. That also got no response so she placed her foot on the barbell to push it down. The weight paused for a moment before she found herself lifted off her feet, tipping backwards and stumbling before she caught herself.

"He's in a daze, don't take it personally." Himiko held Yu back when she made to hit him. Himiko stepped behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest. After a couple of seconds, Izuku stopped his workout and blinked.

He frowned and looked down at the arms around him. "Himiko, what are you doing?" His voice wasn't cold, but it seemed detached.

"You have a visitor."

Izuku looked up to see Yu there and he quickly frowned and dropped the weight, the barbell crashing to the ground at his feet. "Miss Takeyama, what can I do for you?"

Yu glared at him. "Really? That's all you have to say? After not checking in on Nem, and what's up with that impersonal greeting?"

"Miss Kayama is in perfect health, there was no need for me to remind her of her experience." He said calmly despite the hurt in his eyes.

"And how would you know? You never even stopped by to see her!"

Izuku raised his hand and pointed. "Miss Kayama is exactly seven miles, six hundred and twelve feet in that direction. She is currently asleep, though her left arm is losing feeling from the way she is lying and her right foot is cold. Aside from those two issues, she is in perfect physical health."

Both Yu and Himiko stared at him in surprise. Izuku went on. "I saw the fear in her eyes when I brought her back. It was directed at me. Call it selfish if you must, but I can't bare to see her look at me that way again." He was trying to keep his voice steady, but Yu could see the wetness in his eyes.

"Nem doesn't hate you Zuku. She's been upset about you getting us together, but not about this. She's afraid of losing you." Yu went on, stepping in and hugging the taller man tightly. "She misses you, even if she didn't want to admit it herself. She was used to being manipulated by others, we both were and we knew what they were doing. She just didn't expect it from you, that's why it hit her so hard, but that is all water under the bridge now. You brought her back, there's no other way around it. You've proven enough to us. Please, just come by and see her? She's stubborn, but she wants to see you."

Izuku pulled away from the hug and ran a hand through his hair. "I really don't want to, but…" Izuku sighed and eventually nodded. "Can I shower and change first?"

"Good!" Yu brightened visibly. "I didn't want to have to drag you there. It was hard enough to do that back when we first met, I can only imagine how hard it would be now."

"Damn near impossible." Himiko interjected. "Once his mind is set, he's like a damn immovable object. Damn right pain in my ass."

Izuku coughed to try and hide his laugh. "Bad choice of words." He choked out with a smile.

Himiko punched his shoulder and stepped back from him with a glare. "That's new too!" She pouted. "He used to ignore my innuendos!"

Yu smiled softly at the interaction. "I'll see you in a bit Zuku, try not to take too long. We'll discuss this bit about how in-depth you know Nem's condition there." With a mock salute, Yu enlarged herself and sped away back to Nemuri's apartment.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. **


	9. Aftermath

**Chapter 9: Aftermath**

* * *

Izuku wasn't expecting his bed to already be in use when he went back to get cleaned up. A few strands of unruly pink hair poked out from under his comforter. He released a sigh and threw back the blanket and stared down at the inventor.

"Mei, what are you…" He blinked with wide, disbelieving eyes for a few moments before he rushed to cover her back up, thankful that she was still asleep.

A cough over his shoulder had him turning to see Himiko grinning in the doorway. His embarrassment slowly faded. "See something you like?" Himiko asked innocently.

"Did you do this?" He accused the blonde with a critical eye.

"Did I plan for your sexually frustrated personal inventor to be in your room, in the buff?" Himiko made her way over and lifted the blanket enough to take a peek, letting out a sharp, appreciative whistle. "As much as I want to take credit, this wasn't my doing."

Izuku knocked the blanket out of Himiko's hand. "Stop that." He turned and went to his adjoined bathroom. "Do me a favor? Wake her up and tell her to get dressed… Or at least make sure she stays covered until we leave. Are you coming with me to Yu's place?"

"I wasn't the one invited. I don't know what you're gonna tell them, do you want me there? I know how much this whole thing has you twisted up and… well, I don't want to overstep."

Izuku stuck his head out of the door and quirked an eyebrow at her. He was surprised at how Himiko looked equal parts embarrassed and ashamed. "You are quite literally the only person that knows the full story. It's a little hard for you to overstep. Now, wake up the goblin and make her decent."

Himiko was grinning now, her embarrassment completely gone as he disappeared into the bathroom again. "You can get up now." She didn't bother looking down at the inventor still in his bed.

"Why'd you have to ruin my fun Himito, I had him just seconds away from making a breakthrough!" The blanket was flung away and Mei sat up with a pout.

"First, it's Himiko."

"I got most of it right this time." Mei rebutted with a shrug.

"Second, no he wasn't. You're not the first naked girl to be in his bed and he hasn't done anything yet." Himiko tossed Mei's clothes to her. "He's a tough nut to crack and I've been trying to get him to loosen up. I think he's immune."

"I can still hear you!" Izuku called out over the running water.

Mei glared at the door to the bathroom for several long moments, grumbling under her breath, before sighing and putting her clothes back on then sat cross legged on the bed in her skirt and tank top. "So, what's this about the full story?" Mei looked up at Himiko who had taken a seat on the desk.

"Yeah, not touching that one." Himiko rolled her eyes, then an idea came to her. "So, how do you feel about sabotage? I need some adjustments made to some hero gear."

Mei's eyes grew wide with excitement. "Tell me! Is it your suit? Do we need to make more changes? I'm sure I can add a shield generator somewhere to it." She started to list off ideas as they came to mind.

"Not my costume, and it's not an improvement. Well, not an improvement for them, but it won't hurt them either." Himiko went on to explain her request to the inventor.

"You expect me to do that to one of my babies?" Mei deadpanned. "I don't-"

"Himiko, get in here!" Izuku called through the door.

Himiko and Mei both shared questioning looks. The blonde shrugged eventually and entered the bathroom, Mei right behind her. They were only mildly surprised to see Izuku already had his pants on. "What's up?"

"Got your knife on you?" He asked with a frown, turning his back to them. He reached behind his back and stretched his arm up to tap on a bump just under his shoulder blade. "They missed one of the bullets when they dug them out initially."

"They wouldn't have missed it if you just went to the damn infirmary like you were told to." Himiko pulled out a blade from a strap on her thigh that was hiding under her skirt. "How deep?" She asked tracing her fingers over the bump. "Directly under the bump?"

"Just below the first layer of muscle, half an inch at most. Also, yes. I think it's still intact, it didn't hit any bones on the way through." Izuku responded.

Himiko nodded to herself and adopted a look of concentration before slicing deep into his skin. She felt the blade hit metal and cut around the bullet, then used the tip to dislodge the bullet into her awaiting hand.

"Is now really the time to be getting aroused?" Izuku looked over his shoulder with an amused smile.

"Shut up! I'm not horny!" Himiko slapped the closing wound, causing him to grunt.

"Then why are you rubbing your thighs together?" Mei asked in a voice dripping with feigned innocence.

"Anyways." Izuku shook his head with a grin. "Did you get it out?"

Himiko dropped the bullet in his open palm. "Gimme that!" Mei snatched it out of his hand and started to inspect it. "They wouldn't give me one when I found out about them. You said it has the ability to stop quirks?"

"Stopped mine for a couple hours." Himiko didn't look happy about it.

"And it did nothing to you Izuku?"

"Nope, but we already knew my abilities didn't derive from a change in my genetic make-up." Izuku nodded. "Think you can get anything from what's left?"

"Probably not." Mei said honestly. "I'm not very adept at genetics. I probably won't be able to make heads or tails of what the actual make-up of it is, but I want to try it anyways."

"Talk to Recovery Girl when you hit a dead end, I'm sure she'd like to do something other than fix broken students." Izuku ushered the two out of the bathroom so he could finish getting dressed.

Once dressed and ready, Izuku watched Mei sitting on his bed while she was inspecting the bullet. "I'm going to regret asking this, but why were you naked in my bed, Mei? I'm not even going to bother to ask how you got in through the locked door."

Mei waved her hand dismissively. "You said you'd do anything if I could get your heart started again. I'm anything. But that'll have to wait, I wanna crack into this thing." She flipped her goggles over her eyes and held the bullet up to the light, the crosshairs in her eyes rotating as she zoomed in.

Izuku groaned and ran his hand through his hair. "You know what? I'm not going to even try to explain it again. The whole thing is lost on you. Himiko? You coming or are you staying?"

"We're still on house arrest from the attack, I'll stay and run interference." Himiko nodded with a small smirk.

"A teacher called me away, so I have an excuse to leave." He stopped at the door. "How's Momo doing?"

"She's pretending she's doing okay, but I was there when they informed her parents. They tried to convince her to go back home to the company." Himiko frowned. "Bastards went on about how she couldn't protect herself and needed to go back to the safety of their home and all that bullshit. Jiro's acting as bodyguard for now."

Metal creaked as the door handle in Izuku's hand twisted under the pressure. "Do we need to do something about it?" His voice was cold enough that Mei lost interest in her trinket and looked over at him quizzically.

"Not yet, but she's gonna need a lot of emotional support in the coming days." Himiko didn't like how her friend's parents were talking down to her, it made her remember what her own parents did to her. "I'll keep an eye on her though. Oh! Before you go, I mentioned your blood replenishment issues with Mr. King since his quirk uses blood too. He wants you to stop by when school starts up again before class so he can set you up with a contact of his that assists him with his issues."

"Why do you need that? I thought you were getting blood transfusions?" Mei was confused. And intrigued. And hungry. She knew Recovery Girl had been giving them to him since they had installed her invention into his chest. Or at least that had been the plan.

"They work just fine for me, but not for Himiko. After the first transfusion, we put a stop to it." He explained, still halfway out the door. "It's not my genetic code, so it isn't helping her and I can't have that. Thanks, Himiko, but I have to go now. I suspect that I'll be gone for most of the night. Will you be staying with Momo?" When she nodded, he went on. "I'll stop by her room in the morning. Mei? I've got some things I need made so I'll be coming by during lunch. I'll bring food with me and we can work while we eat."

Mei hummed her acceptance, watching him leave. When he was gone, she turned to Himiko fully. "He obviously wasn't going to tell me about the issues with his blood and him not having blood messes with my baby. I think I need some answers."

* * *

The trip to Yu's apartment both went by faster than he expected and slower than he wished. Seeing as he didn't want to get sweaty again, he opted to take a bus across the short distance. Throughout the trip he had managed to distract himself from the upcoming talk by working through one of his notebooks that contained advanced quirk tactics for his class.

The most versatile quirk was Momo's creation; she could enact a combination attack with nearly everyone in class. Besides, he figured she could use the confidence boost after her confrontation with her parents.

So distracted was he in his booklet, he hadn't realized that once he got off the bus, he wasn't headed towards Yu's apartment but was instead following the mental command that told him where Nemuri was currently residing.

Sand under his feet brought his attention back up. Sound rushed in and he took in his surroundings. Young children were playing on the swing set, running through the jungle gym and generally just darting around while they played.

Yu and Nemuri sat a short distance past the park, leaned up against a tree. They were staring right at him, watching him. He blinked in surprise, not even attempting to hide it. He hadn't even realized Nemuri had left the apartment, he had just been following the marker in his head absentmindedly. He steeled his nerves and made it across the park to the older women.

"I guess you really can tell where she is." Yu commented, still confused about how that worked.

Izuku gave a weak smile to the two. "How are you feeling Nemuri? I don't mean physically… I mean…" He tapped the side of his head, trying not to feel awkward standing across the two women.

Nemuri was watching him curiously. After several tense moments she shrugged her shoulders. "It's a lot to take in. It all feels like a bad dream; like I'm going to wake up one day and be looking down on my body again."

"I can understand that feeling." Izuku rubbed his hand through his hair. "It's good to see you alright. I was worried. I know you're alright, but every time I think about what happened, I can't help but see what that thing did to you."

"And we have you to thank that she's still here." Yu hugged Nemuri tightly.

"How did you do that exactly? One second, I was looking down at my body and being dragged away, the next thing I knew you were grabbing me and… I don't know, merging my bodies back together?" Nemuri offered in confusion.

"That's not far off what happened. Essentially, when you died and your body couldn't act as a holder for your soul, your soul decided to move on." Izuku explained. There was no need to pretty up the words or try to skirt around what had happened. They deserved to know exactly what he had done to her. "I couldn't bare to see you leave like that so I forced your soul back into your body and, to keep it there, I used my own to act as a pseudo barrier to keep it there."

"Is that why they said she woke up without a heartbeat?" Yu asked.

"You dragged me back from the afterlife and essentially raised me from the dead. Like a zombie." Nemuri reasoned.

Izuku shrugged. "I guess you can look at it that way. Really, I just gave the others the time they needed to make your body a suitable host for your soul again. It's not entirely different from what I do with animals. The only difference is with the animals, their bodies wouldn't be able to withstand their souls for long even if their bodies could be repaired."

"So you lent me part of your soul until my body could handle things on its own again?" Izuku nodded to her question. "Then why can you tell where I am? More importantly, what I'm feeling?"

Izuku looked sheepish and raised a hand over the center of his chest. "I didn't exactly lend you part of my soul. I tore a piece off and forced it into you."

"Wait, wait, wait." Yu raised her hands to stop Izuku from continuing. "You _tore_ a piece of your soul off? How does that even work? Does that mean you'll forever have a piece of yourself in her?"

"With the animals it's more I'm diverting a portion of my soul to coax theirs to stick around. With you, Nemuri, it was so much harder to just keep your soul from running off. It took everything I had, and more, to just keep it around. I didn't have time to test things or to question what I was doing." His fist clenched into his shirt. "I couldn't chance it not working so I did everything I could think of."

Nemuri was silent as she absorbed what he was saying. "Is your soul forever a part of me now?"

"Truthfully, I don't know. I could try to take it back now that you seem alright and maybe it would come back to me, or maybe it'll merge with yours in time and you'll have a stronger life force. I don't know if I want to try and take it back though…"

"Why ever not? It's your _soul_, why would you leave it in me if you could be whole again?"

"_Because you could die again._" Izuku whispered quietly. "It's not hurting you, is it? Why do we even have to chance it?"

Yu scrunched her face up in concentration. "Doesn't that mean you'd die sooner, though? If I'm following what you're saying, your body has to be strong enough to keep your soul together. If your soul is weaker, then wouldn't it be harder to keep ahold of? Or would that make it easier to hold onto? How much of it do you have left?"

"A little more than half, I think. It's kind of hard to put a quantitative value to something like this. I gave everything that I could at the moment to make sure it worked. As for me being weaker? Yeah, I'm growing tired faster and I have to replenish sooner than normal, but that could be from getting used to my body changing."

They continued for a few minutes longer, talking in circles and asking different variations of the same questions that Izuku couldn't answer. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer them, but rather that he couldn't answer them. He hadn't tried any of this before, at least not consciously.

"I don't like the idea, but for now I agree that until we know more, we can hold off." Nemuri agreed. Her demeanor softened after a few seconds of thinking. "I never did thank you for saving me. Despite what we had been going through, I am beyond thankful for what you did."

"Always." Izuku finally opened his eyes with a small smile. "I would give more than I already have to make sure you're alright. I know it's going to take some time and a lot more effort on my part to make up for my machinations, but I want you to know that I'm going to keep trying."

"Alright, that's enough." Yu broke into the conversation. "It's time to be happy. Izuku's trustworthy again and is willing to take his punishment. Nem's alive and kicking and has a one-way comm line with our little brother. Everything's fine and we can be happy." She reached out and around Nemuri, who was sitting on her lap, and dragged Izuku to them and hugged both of her precious people tightly.

Nemuri only hesitated for a moment before also wrapping her arms around Izuku. "It's so weird that you're suddenly so big now…" She grumbled. "I fall asleep for a few minutes and suddenly you're all grown up!"

Izuku let out a weak chuckle and hugged both women tightly, his arms long enough now to wrap cleanly around them with little effort. He stayed liked that for as long as he dared. It was nice to not be entirely hated by the women he thought of as his older sisters. "We'll do some more research, somehow we'll find out exactly what this whole thing means for us."

"Once everything has settled down and I'm back to class, we need to see how far this thing runs. I wanna know if you can use me like you do those dead birds." Nemuri nodded as she spoke, genuinely curious. "Maybe it gives me some bonuses or healing properties like you have."

"Let's not go testing that." Izuku was quick to interject. "I don't want to run the risk of… well, you know…"

It was a sentiment that the others concurred with. Izuku listened to the two women he considered older sisters continue to talk for a short time. He didn't know when it happened, but slowly a fog overtook his mind and things seemed to lose focus, colors ran together and his head throbbed.

"-ku?" Izuku blinked rapidly and some of his focus came back. He had to narrow his eyes to lock onto the blonde that was calling for him. At least he thought it was her. "Zuku, you okay? You look really tired. I guess we've been out here for a while and you're probably…"

The next thing Izuku knew, he was walking into his room. He froze in the doorway, one hand still on the handle. How had he gotten back? His phone vibrated in his pocket and quickly checking it showed two missed phone calls from Yu, five from Nemuri, and several messages from the both of them. They were worried because he had suddenly left without explanation.

He fired off a message telling them that he hadn't been feeling well and needed some rest and that he planned on seeing Recovery Girl in the morning for a checkup.

He wasn't actually going to go see the nurse, but it would placate them for the time being.

Yu messaged back immediately, saying she understood and to call when he had a free chance in the upcoming week.

* * *

Izuku's meeting with Vlad King's contact the following morning had gone well. It certainly wasn't going to be cheap; actually, it would have crippled him financially if he hadn't planned ahead and saved a good portion of his mother's life insurance. Seeing as he wasn't a hero, the government wouldn't take care of the bill and obviously the school wouldn't front the bill. The only thing that was going for him was that through Vlad King, the contact had decided to give him a discount. Maybe he should talk to the Principal about it, maybe he would be willing to help.

The woman's quirk allowed her to increase the body's ability to produce blood at the cost of her own stamina. She mainly used it while working at the hospital to help those that couldn't do it themselves, or for heroes that were dangerously hurt.

Once a contract had been reviewed and signed, the woman used her quirk on Izuku. They would be meeting several times over the following week until his blood was replenished, then they would meet twice a month until the contract was completed or he no longer needed her help.

Izuku had barely made it to class before it started. He had just taken his seat when the door slid in and collectively the entire class fell into silence. The door slid open and Aizawa lazily marched to the front of the class, casting a critical eye around the room. "I hope everyone has rested enough over your days off because starting today we will be increasing the intensity of our training."

Aizawa broke the murmurs with a glare. "Our excursion during the USJ incident has shown us that we do not have the time to coddle you."

'_Coddle us?_' Several students thought at once. '_He calls our training up until now coddling?!_'

"The incident has shown us that despite being inexperienced and untrained, all of you have great potential and… some… of you have the mental capacity to understand a situation." Aizawa motioned with his hand to the board while he pressed the button on a remote control, turning on the projector. "For the first couple of hours we will be going over video surveillance of the incident and all of your actions. Together you all worked well together, but do not get complacent! The villains you all encountered were nothing more than cannon fodder!"

His sudden turn to seriousness shocked the class. Well, more serious than usual. They watched in with rapt attention while he pointed out specific instances in the video. "First off, during the actual training… you all performed…. Satisfactorily. We do not expect much out of you on your first day during rescue training. Though, I am satisfied that many of you paid extra attention to the medical training as there were many instances that we witnessed first aid being required."

The images changed to show the initial attacker partially submerged into the ground while being encased in ice. "The initial plan was well executed." He watched as many developed smiles. "But poorly planned."

Yaoyorozu frowned and raised her hand. "Sir, could you elaborate please? I feel we planned it out to the best of our abilities in the little time that we had."

"What were your contingencies?" Aizawa asked seriously. "If any part of the plan had gone awry, what were your plans for if it came to fruition? In the field, you always need to have a backup in place for when everything goes south."

"That is why we had multiple individuals on the plan." Yaoyorozu reasoned. "If Honenuki's quirk hadn't hindered them, we had Todoroki's ice as a backup. Izuku's attack wasn't meant to take any of them out, it was meant as a distraction to get their attention off of you and Miss Midnight."

"Did you take into account that maybe Midnight and myself could not get out of the way before you put your plan into fruition? What if Sero or Shiozaki couldn't get us pulled away in time? Did you even think about that?" Aizawa asked. His tone wasn't accusatory or angry. "I'm not asking these things to say it was a bad plan, but I need to hammer into you all that it won't go your way every time."

"Necessary risks." Izuku narrowed his eyes at the Pro Hero. "If we couldn't get you out in time and you were caught in the capture attempt, then we could have gotten you out after the rest were subdued." He knew the necessity for the lecture, but he didn't like their actions being questioned. In his opinion, if the students hadn't acted, then the two Pro Heroes would have lost the fight.

Aizawa locked eyes with Izuku for several seconds before changing to another video and continuing his rundown of the incident. He showcased specific scenarios that he felt warranted discussion. He critiqued Jiro's form when she was locking blades with a particular thug, but commended her on utilizing her jacks in conjunction with the blade. Kirishima was shown standing over an unconscious Pony, deflecting attacks with his hardened skin while Iida ran through the villains at an extreme speed, decimating their numbers in a matter of moments.

The scenarios continued for every single student until the surveillance from Momo being kidnapped was brought up. There were several gasps and cries of surprise when Himiko shoved Momo out of the way only to get shot in the shoulder. They watched in horror as her quirk faded, leaving her bare to the class.

Mineta let out a short perverse giggle but was silenced when three separate people slammed their fists into him. He let out a cry of pain only to have it choke in his throat at the glare he was getting from his instructor. "I would watch what you say. Your scenario is next." Aizawa growled out.

The video continued with Izuku being shot several times before the brief bout of hand-to-hand fighting. The temperature in the classroom dropped several degrees as they watched Izuku and Himiko being engulfed in the torrent of flames before the abrupt ending of the battle.

Aizawa paused the video with Izuku standing center stage, his back to the camera while his skin was piecing itself together. "This is the reality of what we do. At any moment your life could be ripped away from you. It is only thanks to Izuku's condition that he is still with us today. If anyone else had been in this situation, there would have been more deaths on our hands." He turned to the student in question. "Explain your actions."

"They were after Momo, and while I have every confidence in Himiko to protect her, I couldn't just let them be taken away." Izuku answered.

"How did you know where they were taken to? You weren't dragged away by the teleportation quirk." Aizawa asked. This was his way to get more answers on Izuku's abilities and he was going to take it while he could. The young man had been too quiet about his capabilities, many times saying he didn't have any other abilities, but Aizawa could tell that he was hiding something.

Izuku kept quiet for a few seconds. Several students thought he was going to just ignore the question until he eventually let out a long sigh. "As most of you are aware, Himiko's quirk has an inconvenient side effect that makes her require blood regularly. My blood has proven to be the best for that regard." It wasn't a lie, but it certainly wasn't the full truth. Almost none of the class knew the real reason that Himiko drank Izuku's blood, and those that did know knew to keep it quiet and to themselves. "She's been drinking my blood for so long that I've developed a bit of a connection with her."

"A connection how?" Aizawa pressed.

"I know her general whereabouts and physical condition. It's like a piece of me is missing and it's calling out for me." Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "I knew where she was and used that connection to get to them. I'm glad I did."

"Is that why you two are always together?" Kaminari asked curiously. "Does it help you feel complete to be close?"

"Like she's your other half!" Mina swooned. "Like lovers brought together through trials and tribulations."

"No." Izuku deadpanned, not bothering to continue his explanation.

Aizawa flicked to the next video. In the video it showed Monoma, Setsuna, Mineta, and Yanagi backed into a corner in the Mountain Rescue Area with a half dozen villains in front of them. One of the villains made a comment about having fun with the girls after they beat down the students, making nearly the entire class pale at the implications.

"This is the evil of mankind." Aizawa said pausing the video. "There are those out there that are looking to hurt others for no other gain but for themselves. You will come upon these types of people more than once in your careers. This is why we are training you to be strong, so none of these things come to be."

He resumed the video and everyone watched when Mineta suggested they give Setsuna and Yanagi to the villains so he and Monoma could get away. Before anything could be said an explosion off screen sounded and Bakugo flew into camera, taking out two of the villains out in a single moment. The other students, bar Mineta, jumped into action to take down the rest. Aizawa paused it again, his attention turning to Mineta. "Explain." His voice was cold.

Izuku's gaze was locked on Bakugo, however. He locked eyes with the blonde and gave him a curt nod, displaying his approval of Bakugo's actions in the video. This was proof that Bakugo was capable of being a great hero, even if his intentions weren't wholesome. His actions saved and protected his fellow students. Izuku wondered, not for the first time, if it was right for him to snatch that away in the future.

Mineta froze stiff in his seat. All eyes were on him and none were happy with his comment. "We-well, I did… I didn't mean it! It was… It was to distract them!" He pleaded weakly. "I… I was trying to throw them off so they would… let down their guard and we could attack!"

"Never. Never even suggest such a thing again." Aizawa growled out. He couldn't prove Mineta's words as false. "If this video ever got out to the media, you would find yourself with lots of enemies. As it is, you will need to build up your trust in your classmates again. Whether it was a ploy or not, you suggested offering your classmates up for rape to save yourself." Just because he couldn't prove Mineta's words false, didn't mean he couldn't find other ways to punish the hero in training.

While Aizawa clicked through several more videos, Izuku found his focus faltering again. Sounds faded do a dim buzz and Izuku ended up closing his eyes and rubbing his face with his hands. After a few minutes, Izuku had to make himself breathe, which was a new experience for him. It felt weird to manually breathe, the sensation of drawing in air and expending it was a lot harder to do when you had to think about which muscles were required. The monotonous task however, brought him focus to open his eyes and catch up on what the class was discussing.

The video was just ending on the Nomu fighting one another. "Midoriya, do you have an explanation for what you did to the Nomu to make it attack it's partner?" Aizawa asked, having noticed Izuku zoning out.

"It didn't attack it's partner, I did." Izuku closed his eyes as he relived the scenario, still manually making himself breathe. "The Nomu are mindless beasts. I took advantage of that and delved my soul into the Nomu and took over."

Himiko turned in her seat to look at her friend, taking his hand gently. Like a lifeline, Izuku's focus crashed back into him and everything around him started to clear up, making Izuku draw in a shaky breath. Aizawa nodded seriously. "That's quite the ability. Could you do it again if the time came? Could you do it to someone that was unconscious?"

"They didn't have a soul, that's what gave me the opportunity. It was the first time I've done it and it was a complete gamble if I'm honest." Izuku answered, squeezing Himiko's hand back. She couldn't have known about how she had helped him, but he felt the need to thank her for helping nonetheless.

Aizawa nodded in acceptance, then changed gears. "What did you do to revive Midnight?" This is what he was curious about. They hadn't had time to ask, most of the time since the attack had been spent making reports and running damage control with the media.

Izuku looked off to the side to catch eyes with Tokoyami for a moment before looking up at the teacher. "I put her soul back in her body." He answered after a time, his voice strained. "Tore my own in half to make sure it stayed where it was until her body could be fixed. I don't think I could ever do that again…" He brought a hand up to his chest. "I wouldn't be exaggerating to say I'm half the person I was before that."

Izuku fell silent while the class continued to stare at him in surprise. His mind locked back to that feeling, back when he had been watching Nemuri's soul leave her body. The crushing feeling of loss. It was just as strong as it was back when he found out he had lost his mother.

The class continued without involvement from Izuku as he stared down at his desk. He was eventually roused from his inner musings when a hand shook his shoulder. He jerked back and followed the arm up to see Himiko. "Come on, let's get some lunch." He nodded numbly and they followed the class out the door.

* * *

Word must have spread fast about Izuku's current state. It wasn't that he was given a wide berth or that people were avoiding him, but they were clearly giving him space. More than once he had the feeling that someone was staring at him, but when he looked up, they would turn away. He understood where they were coming from and couldn't fault them for their reactions. For those that hadn't seen the fight with the Nomu, it was a shock to know that once of their classmates had done what they had. The only one that didn't look away when he turned was Shiozaki. The vine-haired girl was puzzled and it looked like she was trying to figure him out by watching him.

The second half of the day was devoted to incorporating everyone's quirks with their preferred combat method. Izuku was off on his own with a training dummy relearning his limits, fixing his attacks while he figured out how his reach and height changed his style. Needless to say, the change wasn't going well. He was having a rough time convincing his brain that things had changed. Usually, people had months and years to grow accustomed to growing. Growing nearly a foot in a week, over half of that being in a single day, did not give him a chance to experience that phenomena. His muscle memory still assumed he was five foot two.

Eventually he had relented and asked Aizawa for assistance or tips. To his surprise, Aizawa was prepared for such a question and had been waiting for Izuku to ask. He had worked with students in the past that had developed quirks that forced them to grow or shrink. Izuku felt highly foolish that he had tried to go about it himself without asking a more experienced individual for help, especially his teacher that had been nothing but helpful since the beginning.

In no time he found himself standing across from Itsuka, the resident martial artist. Apparently, the fastest method for him to get used to his new reach and height was to get his ass handed to him again… and again… and again.

There was another element that he hadn't thought about. It wasn't necessarily pain, because his body still didn't process it the same as it had in the past, but he certainly felt everything that was happening. While flipping himself up to his feet for the fifteenth time, he made a mental note to find a way to dull the sensation even more in the future.

"I'm impressed you can still get up after taking so many hits." Itsuka grinned smugly. "I guess those Nomu must not have been worth very much if you could do so much damage to them. You've barely laid a hit on me, and I've felt grade schoolers hit harder."

He was so hyper-focused on his form and gauging his reach, as well as limiting what strength he used, he wasn't sure if this was her first taunt at him or not. Probably not, it didn't fit her personality to let the opportunity pass. She was much the same as Himiko in that regard.

Her comment must have gained Aizawa's attention because he suddenly appeared next to them. "You'll never grow if you keep holding yourself back, Midoriya. You need to go all out if you want to overcome this hurdle."

Izuku frowned, his frustrations leaking into his voice. "I don't know if you remember correctly, but I can't go all out if I don't want to hurt her."

Itsuka's face fell and she looked disgusted. "I'm not some weak little girl. I can take my hits just as much as I can dish them out."

Izuku ignored the girl and locked eyes with Aizawa, his frustrations finally getting the better of him. "You want me to go all out? Fine. Call Recovery Girl and ask her if she can regrow limbs." He dropped all notions of holding himself back, if she wanted to prove how strong she was, he was more than willing to test her limits.

Izuku leapt forward towards the orange-haired girl, ignoring Aizawa's shocked expression. She deftly dodged his punch and countered with a rising knee. Izuku took the blow and rotated with it, using his free hand to slap her extended leg. Itsuka let out a gasp of pain and rotated in the air uncontrollably. Her back slammed into the ground and she watched Izuku's fist descending on her. A loud tearing sound caught her ears and she knew she wouldn't be able to bring her hands up in time to block. His punch veered too far past her and impacted the ground next to her head. The concrete shattered and his arm disappeared up to his elbow.

Time caught back up to her and Itsuka had to clench her teeth to stop from crying out as she grabbed her leg in pain.

Aizawa was by her side the instant Izuku was off of her. "It's not too bad." He commented. "Your knee is dislocated. Other than some bruising and tenderness after we put everything back where it should be, you won't have any lasting damage." Without warning, Aizawa popped her knee back into place and helped Itsuka to sit up.

Izuku stood a few feet away from them with a deep frown. "This is what I'm talking about. I can barely control how much I'm using. It's practically all or nothing right now. You're right Itsuka, you're not weak. I think you've shown that by kicking my ass for the past half hour."

Itsuka nodded in understanding. She hadn't expected such a strong hit from him simply slapping her leg and looking at the hole where his arm had been, he very well could have taken her head off if it had connected. Looking up at him she saw the remnants of Aizawa's capture scarf wrapped around Izuku. '_So that's what that tearing sound was…_' She thought idly. She could see the metal wires hanging from the loose end that had torn and her eyes widened. '_Just how hard would he have hit me if that hadn't held him back?!_'

Izuku was staring at his hand in frustration. He had barely caught himself there at the end and altered his attack to hit beside her head instead of straight on. He hadn't been focusing on his attacks, just getting a hit in and that distraction had tanked his control on his power.

"We may need to find another way to train your reach." Aizawa relented. "This isn't the first time someone's strength could seriously harm another student. I'll need to put a request for Power Loader to build some extra sparring robots. I have a feeling we'll be going through quite a few. It'll be a slower process because they won't be able to move exactly like a human would, but we won't have to worry about putting someone in the hospital for it."

Izuku had to smile at that. Power Loader was sure to have Mei help him with the request and it would keep the woman busy while she tried to make them advanced and special. He helped Itsuka to her feet, frowning when she winced while trying to put pressure on her leg. "You going to be alright?"

Itsuka flashed him a confident smile, more than happy to lean on him for support. "This won't keep me down, just you see. When you get your control back, we'll have a real fight and I'll knock your ass down again."

Izuku chuckled and shook his head and the two followed the teacher as he called out to round up the two classes.

"Alright, everyone." Aizawa and Vlad King stood side by side to address the combined classes. "Due in part to the attack, Principal Nezu has decided to put more emphasis on the Sports Festival this year. To show a unified front and that we won't allow villains to dictate how we operate, you will have two weeks to prepare."

Excited murmurs rose up, but Vlad King spoke over them. "Traditionally the final round will be a battle tournament, so expect to fight against one another and any others in your year that make it through. The first two parts will be for elimination and change year to year." He raised his hand for silence. "No, we don't know what they are, so don't bother asking."

"The purpose of the Sports Festival is to show off your abilities to respective Pros to get yourself accepted into a workplace study. The better you show off your abilities and the further you get, the more options you will have. Do us proud and prove you deserve your places in our class or you may just find yourself replaced." Aizawa droned on, but everyone knew how serious he was. He demanded the best from them and would accept no less.

"You are all dismissed for the day." Vlad King nodded as he spoke.

While everyone was filing out, Izuku held back until one of his classmates got close. "Koda?" The quiet boy turned curiously, tilting his head to the side in question. "I want to test something if you'll give me five minutes of your time?"

Koda quickly nodded his head with a kind smile.

"I know you like animals, especially with your quirk and all, so please don't freak out." Izuku lead them outside. "I want to see if you can command or understand anything about the animals I reanimate. Do you feel comfortable enough trying it?"

Koda didn't look comfortable and chose to remain silent for a few seconds. Finally, the quiet boy nodded weakly. Izuku didn't give him time to change his mind and raised his hand, pulsing his power to the singular bird he had. A few minutes later a dark shape peaked out over the tree line surrounding the school. A completely immaculate and healthy appearing snow-white owl glided in to land on Izuku's arm, the bird's claws scraping along his gauntlet.

Koda let out a soft exclamation, reaching out to stroke the bird's feathers. He blushed when his actions caught up to him, but he was calmed by the smile Izuku was shooting him.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Izuku asked quietly. "A vet I frequent contacted me. Her owner wanted a little more time to say goodbye. Here's what I'm thinking. I'll influence her to remain sitting on my arm here and you try to get her to do something else."

Koda spoke quietly, whispering his requests to the bird. The owl cocked its head to the side, then turned to look at Izuku, then back to Koda, and finally back at Izuku. Eventually the bird seemed to shrink in on itself in shame, but stayed rooted in place, though it did fidget.

"I think that's enough." Izuku lifted his arm into the air and sent a mental command for the bird to return to its owner.

The bird turned to Koda and bowed its head and let out a melodic hoot before taking off, much to Izuku's surprise. Koda's soft voice turned him away from watching the owl fly off. "She thanks you for letting her stay with Tenso."

"You could understand her?" Izuku's eyes widened. Thoughts quickly ran through his mind and he wished he had one of his notebooks on him. This would give Koda much more practical application to all sides of Hero work. "Have you always been able to talk to animals? I thought your quirk was more they listened to you, not a direct communication."

Koda blushed brightly and wrung his hands together nervously. Izuku assumed he didn't trust his voice any longer as the bulky teen started to sign. 'Only more intelligent animals have a voice. Not all animals of the same species can talk back, it depends on the individual animal.'

"This is amazing Koda!" Izuku called out in excitement. His mind went into overdrive thinking of all the possibilities they could come up with, all the strategies that Koda was now suddenly able to accomplish. He stopped suddenly and looked up. "Why have you never told anyone about this? You could be a powerhouse in the intelligence world, getting information on hidden away criminals without putting anyone at risk of being caught!"

'Most animals aren't capable of speaking. Those that are aren't usually intelligent enough for conversations. Your owl friend was one that was capable of far more.' Koda fidgeted for a few seconds before making a request. 'If she comes back, would you mind if I talked with her some more?'

"Of course, Koda. I only have about another week, ten days max, with her before it'll be time to put her down, but I'll be sure to have her stop by to talk with you sometime soon." Izuku smiled gently at his classmate. Koda's gentle and pure hearted nature would make him a good hero. "Come on, lets go catch up to our class and get changed."

Koda smiled happily and walked next to his friend. After a few minutes in silence, he got Izuku's attention again. 'Thank you for saving Miss Midnight. Her art class is my favorite subject and she's a really nice lady.'

"You have no idea how happy she would be if she heard you calling her a lady." Izuku grinned as Koda's face tried to invent a new shade of pink in embarrassment.

* * *

**[1-A Dorms]**

"Izuku!"

Izuku looked up from the recipe book in front of him to see Nejire floating through the room towards him. "Hey Nejire, what brings you by?" He was trying to decide on what to make for dinner for his class. He thought about it and wondered if their sister class would be joining them. Maybe he should reach out to Itsuka or Tokage to see if they had plans for their class to show up. It wouldn't be good for him to undercook the amount needed. If they showed up, then he would need to plan for something that could be made in large doses. Also, he needed to make a plate for Aizawa, the teacher had been nearly catatonic during class today from working himself ragged with Hero work at night and was getting little sleep. Something that could help him sleep would be beneficial.

"You're muttering again." Nejire's smile didn't falter. Her smile grew into a grin at Izuku's embarrassed chuckle. "I wanted to make sure you were doing alright after the incident. And I wanted to see how much you grew, Toga was very vocal about your growth spurt. She wouldn't tell me where I could find you though, do you know how hard you are to track down when you don't want to be found? How do you do that anyways? You're not small enough to blend into a crowd anymore and I haven't seen any giant flocks of birds around to help you train. Is that still how you train?"

Izuku pushed the book away from him and smiled affectionately at the shorter woman. He liked how free she was, how unfiltered her thoughts were. "From the top. I'm getting better, I talked a lot with Nemuri and Himiko and they've helped put my mind to rest about it. I grew a lot and it sucks. I can barely fight now and my control on my strength is nonexistent. Aizawa's going to help me find non-human alternatives to get me combat ready. Toga's always wanted me bigger and taller, so I'm not surprised she was excited about it. Also, no I'm not hard to find. You just didn't know where to look. I've been running and at the gym constantly so I can gauge my strength levels. I don't have a flock of birds anymore because I don't want to stretch myself to thin. I'm at half strength right now and it's messing with everything else I can control."

Nejire was in slight awe at how Izuku had kept up with her questions. Despite their last meeting being much faster paced and higher energy, she had figured it was a fluke. Most of her friends, aside from Tamaki surprisingly, would be overwhelmed by her rapid-fire questions. Her timid and antisocial friend was highly analytical and could process things faster than others, so it wasn't a surprise that he could keep up with her questions. When he deemed it necessary to respond that is.

"Why didn't you just text me?"

"Ummm…" Nejire lost control of her quirk for a moment and she wavered in the air. "I don't have your number?"

"That's not true, I gave it to you when we were on the roof." Izuku frowned. He remembered that moment, she had been extremely excited to have another friend in her phone.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Nejire?"

"Yes, Izuku?"

"Did you lose your phone?"

"No! Of course not!" Nejire pouted and folded her arms across her chest. "Mirio phased through me and when he popped back into place it broke! I got a new one but it doesn't have your number in it!"

"Speaking of him, did you pass my message to him?" Izuku pulled out his phone and sent her a quick message. "There you have my number again."

Nejire pulled her phone out and grinned in unadulterated excitement. "Yay!" Izuku's phone pinged three times consecutively and he didn't even have to look at it to see they were from her. "Mirio's here." She was still staring at her phone but pointed over next to Izuku.

Izuku turned his head to see a pair of sparkling blue eyes and the top of a head peeking out through the cookbook he has set aside. Izuku blinked in surprise at the mirth in the man's eyes. He looked back to Nejire. "Does he do this a lot?"

"More than you'd believe." For the first time since Izuku had met her, Nejire didn't look happy, she looked frustrated. Probably still upset about the phone.

"Midoriya!" Mirio leapt out of the countertop making Izuku frown. He had done a lot of research on the top students of each year group. One thing his research hadn't told him was that Mirio was a nudist.

"Why are you naked?" He deadpanned. "You're naked in my kitchen."

"Ah…" Mirio scratched the back of his head. "We still haven't figured out how to prevent that yet."

Izuku let out a groan. "Who's your support specialist?"

"Ah… I don't have one." Mirio admitted. "I usually just let the support course in my year take care of my costume. I don't have much need for support items because they don't work well with my quirk."

"Where did you leave your clothes?"

Mirio looked sheepish. "My dorms…"

Izuku dialed a number into his phone. "Himiko? You still in your room? Yeah, I'm downstairs. Do me a favor and bring me down a pair of my shorts. No, you'll understand when you get down here." He hung up and gave an unconvinced stare at the blonde. "I really want to apologize for my behavior when we first met, but you're making it hard to care right now. At least cover yourself with a hand towel or something."

"He's always been like this." Nejire shrugged her shoulders and took a seat next to Izuku, looking over the book he had laid out on the table. "What did you want to talk about anyways?"

"How much does she know about your training with All Might?" Izuku asked Mirio.

"She's usually around when I'm training with him. So probably all of it? Why?" Mirio had taken his advice and held a towel over his crotch.

This conversation was already starting to hurt Izuku's head. Maybe that was just the eccentric blonde standing practically nude in the kitchen. Either way, his head started to throb and he rubbed his eyes with his forefinger and thumb of one hand.

"That makes things easier, I guess. How far have you trained with All for One? Do you have the same setbacks he does and how is your control coming?" Izuku asked bluntly.

"Ah… what?" Mirio looked genuinely confused now. "What's All for One? He's helped me with my quirk quite a bit. It's thanks to him that I learned how to phase my eyes one at a time so I can see where I'm going!"

Izuku's mind froze, his headache forgotten in a heartbeat. Had he heard that right? No, maybe he hadn't. Or maybe Mirio had been pretending. That was always possible, it was All Might's biggest secret so maybe Mirio was trying to cover it up. Yeah, it had to be that, right? Izuku had done his research and had heard from David that All Might was training Togata personally and that he was looking for his replacement. It only made sense that he had chosen Togata, right?

Nejire's face appeared in front of Izuku's, barely a couple of inches away. "All Might's biggest secret? What secret is that? How do you know about his secret if its so secret that not even Mirio knows the secret? Can you tell us the secret? Is the secret have to do with this One for All thing you were talking about?"

"Pretty sure he said All for One, Nejire." Mirio looked serious and confused at the same time. It was a strange look on the blonde. "But I'm not sure we should be talking about All Might's secret if it really is a secret. But to answer your question, no I don't know about whatever that thing is. I'll make sure to ask All Might the next time I see him though."

Himiko had just made her way down the stairs with a pair of his shorts. "Why did you…" Her eyes took in the scene in front of her. "Zuzu. Why is there a muscular pervert standing in the kitchen next to you? Is this supposed to be a surprise for me? Because if so, I don't want it. Is it for you? Do you have something you need to tell me?"

"Himiko, please shut up. Just give him the shorts so he can cover himself up." Izuku groaned, covering his face with his hands. Mirio didn't sound like he was lying, but Izuku didn't know if he just had a good poker face. Nejire didn't have any sort of poker face. She had no clue about the secret.

When he looked back up Mirio was clothed. Izuku grumbled under his breath about having to clean the kitchen again.

It didn't take long for Izuku to get his wits back, though he did have to physically shake his head to get his thoughts straight. "Okay that makes things a lot harder, yet easier too… Mirio, I'm sorry about how I treated you when we first met. I'm sure Nejire has already told you, but I was in a bad place and I took it out on you guys and that was wrong of me."

"We all have bad days." Mirio gave Izuku a sharp nod and a grin. "I do not hold it against you."

"That being said, I am going to have to preemptively apologize again. I have an issue with All Might. More now than ever before. He made some bad choices that ended up with Midnight in his place during the incident."

Mirio frowned, but nodded. "I can understand what you are saying, but that's the chance we take as a hero. We could get hurt at any time. It's just the nature of the world we live in."

"I agree with you completely." Izuku nodded to the older boy. "But the villains that attacked were there **FOR** All Might. They didn't attack us because we were in training. They were after All Might and somehow knew he should be there. He should have been there and Midnight would never have been in that situation."

"He cannot be everywhere at once, Izuku." Nejire looked sad. "I like Miss Midnight almost as much as you seem to, and I'm sad that she was hurt. Just because someone tried to attack him, doesn't mean it's his fault."

"Look!" Izuku snapped out. He clenched his hands and forced himself to take a deep breath to calm down. "I don't expect you to feel the way I do, nor for you to even accept that I feel this way. Just ask yourself, what was more important than his students? I know for a fact that he was on campus. All Might admitted he was with Principal Nezu when they got word of the attack." Izuku pushed back his chair and rolled up his sleeves to his elbows. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to start dinner for my class. You're welcome to stay if you want."

He knew it was rude to suddenly exit the conversation. He knew that, but he didn't want to explode on the two. He just wanted to apologize to the two and ask Mirio some questions, but here he was getting ready to alienate them once again. His issues weren't their problem. Just thinking about that damn man shot white hot anger through his veins.

He hadn't actually chosen anything to start cooking yet, he had barely started looking up recipes when Nejire had shown up. He just started pulling things out, thinking on the fly while trying not to think about All Might. He jumped when the chicken he was holding was snatched out of his hand by his blonde friend.

"I'll cut; you cook." Himiko offered. "Just tell me what you need done."

Izuku smiled in appreciation. She had been keen on how to help him since the incident, almost like she could read his mind. "One-inch cubes, please."

He let his mind wander while he pulled out the appropriate spices and tools. He had done this so many times that it didn't even phase him anymore, he didn't need his focus to do it. While cooking, the last thing he remembered of the night was Himiko's eyes filled with concern while her arms wrapped around him from the side.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I know the difference between AFO and OFA. Yes, it was said the way it was on purpose.**


	10. Confrontations

**Chapter 10: Confrontations**

**A/N: This story is basically co-authored by Natsu Is Awesome at this point. At least half of the credit goes to him, he helps me iron out plans and ideas. Go give him a look!**

* * *

Movement on the bed jostled Himiko just enough to draw her from dreamland. Unwilling to get up, she burrowed closer into the side of her cold best friend and wrapped her arm over his chest, coming into contact with the woman's back on the other side of him. She sighed and smiled, the cold contrast of Izuku and the warmth of their other bedmate under her palm was soothing.

"Himiko, please keep your hands to yourself." Momo groaned out.

A few seconds later and Himiko heard Momo gasp suddenly. "Himiko, stop it." Shuffling jostled Himiko and she opened her eyes, staring across Izuku's chest while Momo turned around to face her. Momo froze once she finished rolling over. "Izuku? When did you…" Suddenly far more awake, she locked eyes with Himiko. "I take it this is your doing?"

"Ah, right. You were asleep when I dragged him in here. He was spacing out in the kitchen after dinner so I figured he needed some sleep in a decent bed." Himiko shrugged and grinned at her own reasoning.

Momo groaned, but ultimately wasn't mad at her friend. "That explains the chill. You know, just because I appreciate you saving us back in the USJ doesn't mean you can just grope…"

Himiko followed Momo's gaze to see that Izuku's eyes were open, but unfocused as he stared at the ceiling. She grinned. "Wanted to get yourself a handful first thing in the morning?" She ignored Momo's scarlet blush for now and focused on teasing the only male in the room, curling her leg over his. "I can't say I blame you; she is very well endowed and I've snuck a few touches myself."

"Himiko!" Momo swatted Himiko's arm and slid away from the two in embarrassment. Or at least she tried. Izuku's arm was still wrapped around her with his hand firmly placed on her back, not letting her move away. Her blush darkened more. "Izuku, can you let me… Izuku?" Her embarrassment ebbed in lieu of concern.

He still hadn't reacted. Aside from the slow rise and fall of his chest, he was dead to the world around him.

"Again?" Himiko whispered to herself, pushing herself up so she could swing over him so she was sitting firmly on his stomach while looking down at him critically. She didn't know whether she was more concerned or annoyed at this point. Ever since his talk with his pseudo-sisters a few days prior, he had been much better. He had been interacting with their classmates again and she knew he was working hard to make up for the changes he had gone through, but there were times that he drew into himself and was far more robotic, times when he clammed up and wouldn't acknowledge anything or anyone around. Times like right now.

"You in there, Zuzu?" All sense of teasing was gone from Himiko and she focused on bringing him back. "I really should just drag you down to Recovery Girl." Usually he would come out of his trance-like state in time.

"He still hasn't gone?" Momo frowned in frustration. "Izuku, you really need to take better care of yourself. I can't have my second in command shirking responsibility out of some abject fear of the school nurse." She reached up and turned his head to look at her, receiving no resistance.

"Says he is, but obviously he isn't." Himiko prodded Izuku's cheek while Momo looked him over.

"How often does this happen?" Momo asked.

"Not too often, or at least he's gotten good at hiding it from me. Maybe once or twice a day, but it's usually after we train or when he is really focused." Himiko shrugged, leaning closer to Izuku and turning his head to look up at her again. "Maybe I just need to turn into you with a little less clothing on, I'm sure that'd get his attention back."

"Himiko! You are not to use my body for your perversions while Izuku is incapacitated! It's not right!"

Himiko grinned devilishly and sat back up. "Oh? Just not while he's incapacitated? Thanks for the green light, lovely!" She threw her head back and practically cackled when Momo's cheeks darkened with a glare. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on who you were asking, her movement slid her back onto Izuku's thighs. Her laughter froze and she shot a surprised look down at Izuku.

"Himiko, you alright?" Momo saw what looked like a blush starting to creep up her friend's cheeks.

"Yup! Mhm! Just fine!" Himiko responded, just a little to loudly. "I have an idea of what might snap him out of it though." Leaping forward she attacked his neck, teeth sinking deeply into his flesh. Blood filled her mouth and she didn't bother to hold back her moan at the taste. His sessions with the blood replenishing specialist was more than she could have hoped for. The only thing that changed was that it was more bountiful and smoother, yet equally addicting.

Momo was pulled tighter into Izuku's side with nearly crushing force. She could only stare at the surprisingly intimate moment. Unable to look away, it was only after she noticed Izuku's free hand move up to run his fingers through Himiko's hair that she pulled away from watching where they were connected and looked him in the eyes, relieved to see he was regaining consciousness. She gave him a small smile that turned into a grin at his growing confusion.

"Someone want to explain to me how I ended up in, what I assume is Momo's room?" Izuku blinked as he took in the room and the fact that Himiko was still lying on top of him and he was hugging Momo to his side. He quickly let her go and muttered an apology then tapped Himiko's head so she would release him.

Momo gave Izuku a thankful smile and pushed herself away. "Himiko found you out of it and dragged you in here." She sent a small glare at the girl that had slid off Izuku to curl into his side, her head still pressed into his neck. "I just wish she would have warned me beforehand. We could have saved some embarrassment this morning if I knew."

Himiko giggled to herself. "What were you thinking about that had you so out of it?"

Izuku's glared down at Himiko. "Until you bit me, I was blissfully asleep."

Himiko pushed up to look down at him. "Then your dream must have been particularly tantalizing. You got pretty handsy." She grinned over at the blushing girl across from her.

Izuku groaned aloud and rubbed his face. "Sorry Momo. I swear I wasn't doing it on purpose."

"It's alright, Izuku. I think I know you well enough to say you wouldn't do that consciously. Maybe just ask permission next time?" Momo hid her blush behind a good-natured smile while Himiko erupted in laughter. Her phone buzzed on the nightstand, drawing her away from her friends. She quickly checked it before all humor left her and she quickly tossed it back on the table. Taking that as her queue to get up, Momo rolled off the bed and stormed off into the bathroom. "Himiko, you should go get ready. I want to hit up the gym before class."

Izuku sprang into action when the bathroom door shut, grabbing the phone she left on the nightstand and reading the newest message she received. A moment later he put it back in its place with a frown. "Keep her busy for a while, I have something to take care of." He knew it was an invasion of her privacy, but at this point he didn't care.

"I can do that. Was planning on it anyways." Himiko shrugged and leaned against him.

"As much as I enjoy this, we need to get up."

Himiko leaned close to Izuku, keeping her eyes on the closed bathroom door and dropped her voice low. "You know… I have a feeling some part of you was thoroughly enjoying it while you groped poor innocent Momo."

"Himiko, please stop. It's bad enough it happened, can we not bring it up anymore?"

"Speaking of bringing it up? A certain part of you rose to the occasion." Himiko whispered, pushing him down when he tried to sit up.

"I'm no following you."

"You know, for as long as you've been sleeping with me, I should feel insulted that it only took one night for Momo to get such a reaction out of you. Maybe you really do just prefer her body to mine. It would explain your lack of a reaction." She continued to tease him, poking and prodding him with lingering touches. "With how tight you were holding her; I'm surprised she didn't get a good feel of it."

Izuku finally picked up on what Himiko was saying. "That's not funny." He frowned and gently pushed her off of him before sitting up.

Himiko jumped on his back and kept him from getting out of the bed. "Trust me. I wouldn't joke about this." She ran a hand down his chest. "I can get you some alone time with Momo if you want. Ya know, explore a little? So long as you tell me about it afterwards, anyways. It'll be good for a distraction. I'm sure she would appreciate the help. Probably much more than going to the gym, though I'm sure you could work up quite a sweat doing other things too."

Izuku pushed himself to his feet, incidentally picking up Himiko when she didn't let go of him. "Himiko. I'm not interested in Momo like that." He shrugged her off and dropped her back onto the bed. "I'm not… We can't… You know what? I'm out. I quit. You win." He threw his hands in the air and left the room without looking back. He had more important things to worry about right now than deciphering his body's physical reaction this morning.

What neither of them realized was that Momo was listening through the bathroom door sporting a neon blush. "_I wasn't just imagining it then…_" She mumbled to herself.

Despite not wanting to think about it, or about why it had happened in the first place, Izuku had to throw up a wall in his mind on the matter. The conversation he was heading towards would not go well if he had an erection. Through sheer force of will, he repressed all emotions aside and adopted a look of indifference. His eyes flashed brightly for a moment in the dimly lit hallway. It was time to find out what his true limits were. First, he needed to make a phone call to a particularly interested inventor to inform them of his plans. If any of this came out, he would need someone with some political connections backing him.

* * *

Much to his teacher's annoyance, Izuku didn't show up for class until minutes before lunch. The door slammed open and everyone turned. Izuku had enough self-awareness to look sheepish for a moment as he slid in, looking absolutely spent.

"So nice of you to join us." Aizawa droned out with a glare. "Just where have you been and why were you not answering your phone when your class rep tried to get ahold of you?"

Izuku looked confused for a few moments, then blinked in surprise and turned towards the rest of the class. "I told Bakugo to tell you I was taking care of something personal after he blew up my phone this morning."

"You did no such thing!" Bakugo jumped to his feet angrily.

"Bakugo's failures aside, I had to do some testing. It couldn't wait. I apologize for entrusting Bakugo to pass you a message. I will endeavor not to do it again in the future." Izuku bowed his head and made his way over to his seat.

"What was so important that you deemed it necessary to miss class?" Aizawa's tired glare hadn't lessened.

"Skipping all the boring parts about why it had to be now, I set out to test my limits." He waved a hand over at one of his classmates. "Koda was kind enough to send a message out through some of his woodland friends to help me out."

Aizawa resisted the urge to roll his eyes or sigh. "Was it a waste of time, or did you manage any progress? It'd be illogical to come back now after missing so much class if you haven't progressed satisfactorily."

"More than I was expecting, less than I was hoping for." Izuku nodded. "I have some of my… friends out bringing me more for later."

"Details." Aizawa all but demanded. "How many and how is your control?" If this was going to continue to be an interruption, then he was going to milk the situation for information.

"Sixty-three." Izuku, despite still looking exhausted, grinned darkly. "And I'm not limited to larger animals."

Aizawa's eyes widened in unadulterated excitement. "Is this your upper limits?"

"Not even close." Izuku looked out the window and gestured with his hand. As one, the class looked out to see what looked close to two dozen birds of varying sizes and species land on the tree, all of the birds seemingly moving as one. "I have the rest out searching for more."

"As exciting as your improvement is, you cannot continue to skip class." Aizawa sent a piercing glare at Izuku before continuing along with the lesson.

It was only a few minutes later when the intercom buzzed. "Would Izuku Midoriya please come to the administration building?" Nezu's chipper voice rang out through the classroom.

Izuku pushed himself to his feet, but stopped next to Himiko. "Keep Momo away from her phone for the rest of the day. In fact, all social media should be avoided." He whispered, meeting her eyes for only a moment before heading out. He didn't see the odd look Jiro gave him.

* * *

In short order, Izuku arrived at the administrative building and was guided to a conference room. "Ah, good! Welcome Mr. Midoriya. Please take a seat!" Nezu said with a wave.

"Can't say I didn't expect this meeting sooner." Izuku slipped into a seat across from the Principal. "It's good to see you Mirio. I do apologize our conversation ended so abruptly last time."

Mirio waved at the younger student with his signature grin. "Not to worry! I can understand that tensions got high. Dinner was pleasant, so thank you for that."

"I'll be sure to let Himiko know that you enjoyed yourself." Izuku gave a small smile to the older boy.

"Your discussion the other day is exactly why we had called you here today, Mr. Midoriya." Nezu steepled his paws in front of him.

"Yes. I'm sure you're quite worried about how I know about All Might." Izuku nodded. He looked over at All Might for a moment. "How much have you explained to Mirio?"

"After you let the secret out of the bag? Nearly everything." All Might gave Izuku a withering stare.

Izuku shrugged the look off with a snort. "Not very trusting in your successor if it took a stranger to tell him about his hero and mentor. What exactly was your thoughts on it? Why keep that kind of secret from him? Did you not trust him enough? Because if that's the case, then you're a poor judge of character. Even in the few interactions I've had with Mirio, he's clearly a far more trustworthy person than you are."

"I don't believe that's fair Izuku. All Might is a great hero." Mirio frowned in confusion.

"I'm not denying that. I'm just saying I don't trust him, especially the fact that he is hiding his identity from all of his students." Izuku gestured with his hand to the hero in question. "Take right now for instance. He's wasting his few precious hours in that form to have a discussion with people that know about him."

"Ah… about that. You cannot fault me for hiding my identity. Many heroes hide their identity from public eye." All Might said hesitantly.

"You have to be fucking kidding me." Izuku rubbed his face. "Mirio. All Might's real name is Toshinori Yagi." Izuku ignored All Might's paling features. "I don't know how much he has told you about his so-called quirk, but it isn't his. He inherited it from his mentor before him and is currently the eighth person to have One for All. That's the name of his quirk."

Mirio nodded to himself as Izuku spoke. "What do you mean about…"

"He got hurt a few years ago against that guy All for One and it has severely limited his ability to use his quirk. The fact that he is still holding that form, even after I called him out on it is worrying."

All Might erupted in a cloud of smoke to show a sickly-looking man, much to Mirio's surprise. "Just how did you know about all of this? Do us a favor and don't try to lie. This is a dire situation we find ourselves in."

"Worried I'll tell everyone about your secret? I've known for months and haven't told anyone." Izuku glared at the man at insinuating he was untrustworthy. "Wasn't that hard to figure out. I do my research. It wasn't that hard. The apartment that you live in is under your alias, but you enter and exit as All Might and as Mr. Yagi. You aren't even trying to hide it and you're lucky you have contacts in the police department that clean up after you when you transform out in the open."

Toshinori's eyes widened at what Izuku was hinting at. He went to speak, but Izuku cut him off.

"But that isn't how I learned about you. You see, the day back when you watched me get stomped into the ground and everyone thought I was dead? When you showed up with Dr. Shield? I was conscious of everything around me; I just had no way of showing it." Izuku explained. "Dr. Shield was more than willing to fill in the blanks for me and he helped me learn a few things about you. Don't you think it's a little funny that since that day he hasn't returned any of your calls or bothered to get into contact with you?"

"He's a busy man. I'm sure he has his reasons." Toshinori didn't even want to think about one of his oldest friends purposefully avoiding him. "That doesn't explain why he would give up my secret. What exactly did you do to get him to do that?"

"I gave him something not even you could give him." Izuku glared at the hero.

"What would that be?" Even Nezu was curious. It would take quite a lot for David Shield of all people to turn on his friend.

"Wow. Hypocritical much?" Izuku sneered. "You call me in to question me about knowing your secrets but demand I give you someone else's? Fuck you very much."

"If it has to do with me, I feel like I deserve to know." Toshinori nodded seriously. "I need to know just how truthful you are being. I'll confirm all of this with David after we are done here."

"Let me ask you one question before I even think about answering." He waited until Toshinori nodded his acceptance before continuing. "Why did you just stand by and watch? Why did you take the chance of watching me die, instead of moving in to help?"

"Where did you learn about that?"

"Ever heard of surveillance? There were tons of cameras that captured the incident. I already knew what you looked like; it wasn't hard to find you in the crowd." Izuku explained. "Have anything to say about that?"

"It wasn't my place to help." Toshinori reasoned unsteadily. "I had faith you wouldn't die that day, after our first interaction not a few minutes prior. Besides, Mount Lady, Death Arms, and Kamui Woods were there helping you. I had every faith that they would see it taken care of. As we see today, everything worked out in the end."

"That makes me feel so much better." Izuku deadpanned. "The number one hero was happy to watch me go through all of that simply because he couldn't care enough to do something. Not your place? Then whose place was it? A teenager with no training? Yeah, let's go with that. I'm apparently much more suited to fixing that situation than you are. And you're right, they did such a good job there. They were more than happy to just watch and wait for someone with a better quirk to come around. Turns out the best quirk was there and couldn't bother to do anything."

Izuku raised his hand to cut Toshinori off when he went to explain. "I don't want to hear it. Now you know why I know about you. Happy? Good, now I have a question for Mirio." He turned to the older boy. "How many people do you think All Might is directly responsible for killing?"

Mirio paled and shook his head. "All Might would never kill anyone."

"So my mother wasn't anyone?" Izuku raised his eyebrow in question at the trio in the room.

"Young Midoriya, I've never met your mother before. Forgive me, but I don't see how I can be responsible for her death."

"Of course not. How careless of me. All Might could never do something wrong. It's not like he stood by and watched as I nearly died. No that's not what happened." Izuku glared at the number one hero. "It also wasn't him that caused a panic by showing up to a robbery that was already being handled by the police that made the criminal panic and flee. No, no that wasn't him. He didn't chase the criminal through a city. No of course not. He also didn't leave my mother lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood when said criminal hit her with his truck. No, that's not what happened. Of course not, how silly of me. The video surveillance of the incident was clearly doctored to harm All Might and his reputation. That must be it."

"Come now, Mr. Midoriya. All Might has always done everything he can to ensure those under his care are protected. It is a great tragedy what befell your mother, no one is here to argue that." Principal Nezu spoke up, attempting to defuse the situation. "I can say with extreme confidence that All Might did everything he could in the situation of your mother's demise."

"Extreme confidence or actual evidence?" Izuku crossed his arms over his chest.

"I pride myself in knowing everything about my students and all incidents they were involved in that pertained to villains or quirks. In the situation you are describing, All Might was running damage control from the runaway truck. Police on the incident were overzealous and they were firing their weapons at the truck while the criminal was firing back. All Might was moving people out of the way of the errant fire, doing what he could to prevent further damage." Nezu explained.

"So?" Izuku asked blandly. "Does that stop the fact that things were winding down until All Might showed up and the criminal panicked? Does that make my mother's death alright?" He let out a sigh, attempting to calm himself, even just a little. "Let's not even get into it about how you already knew about All Might being involved in my mother's death and you still think I am overreacting."

Toshinori had gotten paler and paler as Izuku spoke, but it seemed clear that Izuku wasn't done. "Forgive me if after finding out that the man that watched as I was crushed and refused to help also did nothing to help my mother just a couple of years prior, is someone that I refuse to trust anymore. Aside from those two incidents, he got Nemuri killed. Through direct action, Nemuri died. Because the infallible All Might couldn't bother to let police and other heroes do their jobs, one of my loved ones died. Might as well have killed her himself." Izuku sneered hatefully.

"I will admit that Toshinori made rather poor decisions that day, but I feel you are pushing too far to claim that the villain attack was because of him, even if they were directly after him." Nezu tried to reason.

"You know. There is a saying that fits this situation perfectly. Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action." Izuku listed off on his fingers. "As far as I'm concerned, All Might planned the villain attack specifically to get her or someone else I care about killed. You know the funny thing? Even after all this, I still haven't gone to the media or directly to a villain with what I know."

"I am terribly sorry that you feel that way, young Midoriya. I appreciate the fact that thanks to you Miss Kayama is here to this day because you were there when I wasn't." Toshinori bowed his head sadly.

"You see, Mirio? This is why I say you're already a better hero than he is. Here he is again, assuming an untrained teen is more suited to doing his job for him." Izuku clenched his fists on the table in front of him. "You all want my word that I won't go and tell anyone about what I know? Fuck you. I don't owe any of you anything."

"Aren't you only around today because All Might called Mr. Shield to help you?" Mirio asked in genuine curiosity. "I would think you would be grateful to him for that."

"Thankful, yes. But at the same time, he probably did it because he felt guilty that he didn't help me, so what he did was more for him than it was for me." Izuku rolled his eyes at All Might's sputtering.

"Mr. Midoriya, you do realize what could happen if All Might's secret got out don't you?" Nezu asked.

"Of course I do. For as much as I hate All Might and everything that he is, even I understand that he does a lot of good in the world and he is the symbol of peace. He's just lucky that out of the entire top 10, only Hawks and Endeavor even come close to stopping and preventing as much crime as he does. If he was any less of a hero, I wouldn't hesitate to smear his name all over. So I'll keep my mouth shut to prevent riots out in the streets where other children can lose their parents like I did." Izuku growled out.

"What about Miss Toga?" Mirio's voice was quiet and reserved after having all of this new information thrown at him all at once. "She was there when you brought this all up the other night."

"You didn't mention that Toga was there, Mirio." Toshinori's eyes widened in fear. "I can only imagine what could happen with that information in her hands. What guarantee do we have that she won't spread word just to hurt the hero organization?"

"I'll thank you very much to keep her name out of your mouth." Izuku spat out. "She's already given up one murderer to prove that she is trying to be better. Your welcome for that by the way. If you want word that she won't say anything, well I know another murderer that we could turn in." He said pointedly, staring All Might down with a harsh glare.

Toshinori snapped his eyes towards him. "Oh? Didn't tell him that either? All Might here killed the guy that held One for All."

"That's that name that you said the other night. What do you mean All Might killed him? He would never do that!" Mirio cried out.

"Yeah. I know a lot about you All Might. I don't have physical evidence of you murdering Shigaraki, but your reaction is telling enough." Izuku smiled despite what they were talking about. "She's doesn't even have half of the story, but she'll keep quiet."

"Forgive me if I don't take your word for it." All Might ground out. There had been a lot of revelations today that he was nearly on his last whit.

"What else are you going to do?" Izuku asked curiously.

"Maybe she had a relapse and attacked somebody." Toshinori offered seriously. " She is a mentally unstable person, and neither of you seem to be a good influence on each other. Given enough time, you'll feed on each other so much that it can lead to enabling the other to do things that could end up getting other people hurt." The Number 1 spoke calmly as his sunken eyes starred at Izuku's.

"Then what are you going to do about the rest of your students?" Izuku asked harshly.

"I'm afraid I do not follow you Mr. Midoriya." Principal Nezu folded his paws in front of him.

"One of your students advocated for selling his classmates to a group of villains so he could get away. I don't care if he said he would never have done it, just suggesting it is enough for me to refuse to trust him. Another of your students' most common phrase is 'Die!' and 'I'll kill you!'." Izuku spread his arms wide. "But let's worry about the ones that are actively trying to better the world, yeah. That works for me." He said sarcastically.

"Your classmates are lost in their ways." Mirio offered. "They still have time to change their ways and act in the betterment of the world. I do not know which of your classmates you are talking about, but I am certain that U.A. as an institution could turn them around."

"We are not here to talk about your classmates. We are here to talk about you and Miss Toga and the sensitive information that you have obtained." Principal Nezu explained calmly.

"Then what are you going to do about me? Hmmm? Gonna get me locked up?" Izuku pushed himself to his feet. "You're just proving to me that you can't be trusted. You would threaten to lock up someone that is innocent in this because you don't trust her?"

"I'm not threatening anything. She is one of my students. I merely expressed a very real concern." Toshinori said.

"How would everyone feel about you plotting one of your students' incarceration merely because you're afraid?" Izuku asked curiously, suddenly calm.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here." Nezu cut in. "No one is threatening anyone and Miss Toga has certainly done nothing to garner this kind of attention. Let's just take a step back. We do not want tensions to rise any higher. Toshinori was merely expressing his concern for both you and Miss Toga's wellbeing if you continue to interact in the ways that you have been."

Izuku pulled his phone out of his pocket and tossed it on the table in front of him. "Anything to add David?" Izuku was barely able to hold back a grin at Toshinori's reaction.

"Izuku, my boy. I believe it's time we meet again. I have questions of my own for you." David Shield spoke up from the other side of the phone, his voice calm and collected, far different from the usual fanatic side that Izuku usually saw from the genius. "But I am glad that you called me so early this morning. I wasn't expecting you to want me to listen in on this, but I'm happy that we arranged this."

"Well, originally it was to have you corroborate my story, but I'm happy to have a witness that All Might can't threaten to arrest." Izuku smirked at the trio. "I'll be more than happy to come by. We have a lot to talk about."

"Was this all really necessary?" Nezu asked, perturbed that Izuku had someone listening in on their conversation.

"Apparently so. All Might's looking to harm another person I care for. Remember what I said before? All Might has proved to me that he is practically an enemy by his words just now."

"He's merely worried about his secret getting out, surely you can understand that. I'm sure you have secrets yourself that you do not want shared to the public." Nezu spread his arms placatingly. "I fear I must bring up your mother's death. I need to understand why you blame All Might for this. I know him well enough that he would never wish for that to happen to anyone and I am sure he did everything he could to prevent such an outcome, but even he is human and cannot control everything around him."

"By all means, make excuses for him." Izuku bit out. "He himself hasn't said anything about my accusations. Why not? Feeling guilty?"

"Of course I do. It saddens me when there is anyone that I could not save. Add onto that, but I never knew about your mother dying in such an incident." All Might brought a hand up to his chest over his heart. "The fact that you blame me for her death weighs heavily upon me. I swear to you, if I could have prevented it, I would have done so."

"Fat lot of good that does for me. Now you understand why I don't want to be around you. Cool, great, terrific. So where do we go from here? Do you threaten us some more or can we put all of this behind us and you pretend you don't see that I hate you?" Izuku asked carelessly.

"I still don't entirely understand your thoughts on this. You claim to understand that All Might is human and can make mistakes and is generally a good hero and he does a lot of good in the world. How can you hate him so much but also… Your logic just doesn't make any sense to me." Mirio truly did look confused. "I just can't understand your point of view here."

Izuku shrugged his shoulders. "With everything that All Might has done for you, how would you feel if he stood by and watched as someone killed Nejire. Just stood there and didn't lift a finger, then told you it wasn't his place to intervene. Because that's just what he told me. He just told me that he wouldn't intervene in a deadly situation because, and I quote, it wasn't his place to help." Izuku spread his arms wide while still standing. "In what world am I supposed to be okay with that?!"

"But shouldn't you blame the criminal over All Might?" Mirio asked, trying to find some semblance of normalcy in any of this.

"Hard to hate someone that's dead." Izuku waved his hand dismissively. "The only thing I'll say here, is that I won't be the one to do anything to All Might. I won't actively try to hurt him, I won't sabotage him, I won't even wish for his death. But, if something does happen to him, you won't see me mourning him."

"I don't believe I will ever truly understand what you are feeling Izuku." Mirio said after a time. "I do hope however, that one day you will be able to see past your hatred."

The room fell into silence while everyone gathered their thoughts the best that they could. Eventually, it was Izuku that spoke. "I don't know if I will ever be able to look at you without picturing my mother dying, All Might. However, even I know that you are far too important to the world than any single person has the right to be. Therefore, I will do everything in my limited capacity to ensure you live long enough to properly prepare your successor for what may come."

Izuku finally released the tension in his shoulders and mumbled under his breath just loud enough for everyone else to hear. "Even if I have to drag your soul back into your lifeless corpse. I won't be happy to do it, in fact it will probably piss me off to no end, but I would still do it."

"That is a very mature stance, Mr. Midoriya. It is good that you are willing to overlook your personal feelings for the betterment of those around you." Nezu said in obvious praise.

"I trust this conversation stays between us?" Izuku proposed.

"One last question." All Might offered hesitantly. "Why was the first thing you brought up All for One? Why would you start with that man?"

Izuku looked confused for a moment. "Did I? I had meant One for All, but I guess it really doesn't matter, now does it? You didn't tell him until I brought it up. If he is going to be your successor, then he needs to know the whole story, which is something I'm sure I don't even have. I will ease your mind however. Himiko Toga does not know a thing about your quirk, nor does she have any idea of your involvement with my mother's death. All she heard was what I asked Mirio that night, nothing more."

"That does grant me a small semblance of relief." All Might let out a tired sigh.

"I cannot promise to be polite when we have interactions, but I will not purposefully undermine your authority. I will do my best to curb my gut reaction." Izuku offered. "Other than that mess, is there anything you wished to bring up Principal Nezu?"

Nezu hummed quietly before shaking his head. "I believe that will be all today. Thank you for satisfying our curiosity."

Izuku pushed the chair back under the conference table and made his way to the door. "Well, can't say I enjoyed our little talk today. I'm headed off to catch the tail end of lunch. I'll see you all around. Don't hesitate to contact me if you need anything." Just before he was completely out the door he grinned and looked back at them. "All Might?" The hero looked over at him curiously. "Fuck you." The door shut soundlessly as he departed.

* * *

Immediately following lunch, 1-A gathered at training ground gamma in their hero costumes in front of their line of instructors. "We have been training you to utilize your quirks along with your physical abilities and thus far everyone seems to have a tentative grasp on their own styles. Today we will be switching it up and we will be testing your mettle against one another while the rest of the class watches." Aizawa instructed them. "Your matches have already been chosen. Follow me."

The class was led inside where an arena had been set up. "Sir, are we not meeting with Class B today? I was under the impression that we would be training with them until the end of year exams." Momo questioned.

"We are postponing the combined classes in an effort to keep some of your abilities hidden from the other class. During the sports festival, the last challenge is a tournament of one-on-one battles. This way, there will be a chance that you will end up fighting someone that you have little to no experience fighting, just like would happen on the job in the real world. You need to learn to think on your feet." Aizawa explained with the class nodding in understanding.

"Any more questions?" Aizawa asked. Several hands went up, but he ignored them. "Good. First battle is Shoji and Hagakure. Both of you step down into the arena while I explain the rules." Both heroes-in-training nodded and headed down into their spots. "You will continue until one of you gives up, is knocked unconscious, is incapacitated, is knocked out of bounds, or I call the match. The goal is to mix your quirk with your chosen combat preference. Anything goes. Fight clean, fight dirty, I don't care. Both of you ready? Begin!"

Shoji didn't wait but for a single heartbeat before leaping forward, his fist rearing back to release a devastating blow. Toru danced out of the way, ducking under the jab and spinning around behind him. The class watched in rapt attention as Shoji continued to keep up the pressure, his style relying on overwhelming his opponent while Toru opted to avoid as much as possible.

Despite his hulking size, Shoji was faster than most would give him credit for. His speed and wingspan gave him a clear advantage over the smaller combatant. Taking a chance, Shoji spread his arms wide and made to enwrap her within his six arms, knowing if he could grapple her, he would come out the victor.

With a cry of surprise, Toru dropped to her knees and slid underneath Shoji's legs. "Bye Shoji!" She called out, but as he turned around, he found himself standing alone in the middle of the arena.

Shoji quickly altered four of his hands into ears and closed his eyes, taking quick steps back while he tried to listen for movement around him. No sound came to him until he recoiled, his head spinning to the side from what he assumed had been a kick.

The class watched as Shoji tried to weave his way out of the attacks and try to find a hint of where Toru was. Shoji fell to a knee and gasped, his eyes flying open at a particularly devastating blow impacted his stomach. He looked up just in time to see a swirl of dust kick up from what he assumed was Toru. Biting back his pain he lashed out, knowing if he could just get a solid blow on her, he might be able to change the outcome of the battle.

His fist met air once again. As quickly as he had attacked, Shoji fell backwards and was lying on air, his hands clawing at an invisible limb wrapped around his throat. At the same time, his eyes threatened to roll back in his head.

Izuku knew he was the only one to truly see what was happening. Toru had one leg wrapped around Shoji's neck and was raining down elbow strikes onto Shoji's unprotected head while he attempted to pry her leg off. He leaned close to Aizawa, speaking under his breath. "You should call it." He whispered, giving a brief rundown of what Toru was doing.

Aizawa called the match moments later. "I think this fight highlighted something you all need to work on. Shoji has a distinctive advantage over almost everyone here at being able to hear better and he was still unable to do much in this scenario. He hasn't trained himself to use his other senses and relies too much on his eyes." He explained. "Although, I was not accounting on Hagakure being able to move that silently during a battle. Hagakure, do you wish to elaborate?"

Toru deactivated her costume, shimmering into view just next to Shoji. She puffed out her chest, planting her fists on her hips. "When I activate the camouflage ability, it activates sound dampeners in the soles of my costume. I believe only Jiro would have been able to hear me when they were activated if I'm careful." She grinned excitedly at the possibilities that were ahead of her based off her new costume. Plus, she didn't have to be naked!

"How does the invisibility work? That's rather advanced tech and I know several underground heroes that would like to get their hands on something like that." Aizawa nodded as he spoke, already thinking of several individuals he worked with in the past that could use an advantage like that.

"I don't exactly know. That second year Hatsume made it. I know it took a lot of my blood and even some of my hair to build it though." Toru shrugged her shoulders. "Some kind of remote activation of something way too technical that went over my head. All I know is it has to do with my quirk and there are four different ways to activate or deactivate the invisibility. She's even working on making it processable by thought, but again, I have no idea how that is remotely possible."

"Well at least we now know that your quirk has to do with transparency, not actual invisibility." Izuku spoke up from the class. All eyes turned to him. Toru caught his eye for a moment but he looked away. If he hadn't brought his rebreather over his face, she would have been able to see the blush on his cheeks. "What? Everyone seems to forget that I can actually see her."

"Ah, yes. Well, in any case, let's get on to the next fight. Toga, Jiro, get down there." Aizawa pointed at the two students.

Both teens looked at one another, then shared a confident nod and jumped down into the arena. The two took up their stances a few yards apart, each of them silently pulling out their blades. Jiro gripped her blade tightly, debating about whether or not to use her jack to use the vibrating feature on her blade. Almost immediately she tossed the idea out. Himiko could probably cut it off if she got the chance.

Himiko herself grinned in excitement, twirling her knife in her hand. It had been a long time since she had fought someone else with a blade than the instructor. She looked forward to seeing how Jiro faired with the blade. She decided she had waited enough and leapt forward, a short dagger in each hand.

Their weapons met with a distinctive screech of metal, sparks erupting in their fast-paced flurry not giving the other a moment's rest. Eventually, Himiko's honed speed outweighed Jiro's newfound curiosity in blades.

Jiro pushed Himiko away, only to bring her blade around to block an overhand slash, locking blades with the blonde. "You're pretty good at this. I can't wait to see what you'll be like when you have more experience, but you aren't good enough to beat me right now." Himiko commented with a feral grin.

Jiro was forced down to a knee to hold off the taller woman. "It's a good thing we aren't just fighting with blades then." Jiro grimaced under the weight of the attack, but brought up her hand at the same time her jack extended and clicked into place on the back of her glove.

Himiko only had a heartbeat to contemplate what was happening before she saw the speaker attached to Jiro's palm. "Oh shit." She disengaged and leapt back, but was caught in the resulting shockwave all the same and was sent flying away from the violet-haired girl.

Jiro kept up the pressure, charging after her opponent. Jiro didn't relent, instead going for the knockout. Her speakers started to let out a high-pitched whine, dropping Himiko to her knees and cover her ears as the sound started to mess with her equilibrium.

Aizawa ended the fight after seeing Himiko's shape start to rapidly fluctuate. Jiro helped Himiko to her feet. "You caught me off guard there, Jacks. Now that I don't have that damn sound in my head, I can think properly. You'll have to come up with a new trick the next time we fight."

"You make it sound like we're going to fight again soon." Jiro chuckled good-naturedly.

"Oh, you can bet your ass on that. Just you wait." Himiko threw an arm around the shorter girl's shoulders and they rejoined the class.

"Bakugo, Yaoyorozu. You're up."

"I thought you said this was supposed to be a challenge?" Bakugo's comment was met with many hard stares. "Whatever, at least it'll be over fast."

"You can say that again." Izuku whispered out with a grin.

Jiro stabbed Izuku in the side of his neck with one of her jacks, glaring up at him. "Momo's stronger than you think. She won't lose that easily."

Izuku rubbed the spot on his neck that she had stabbed him and chuckled. "I think the fight's going to be over in a matter of seconds."

Bakugo stood impatiently in the arena, his hands held at his sides popping with puffs of black smoke. "We going to do this or what?" He growled.

Momo stretched her arms as she took her place next to the boundary line. "Let's get this over with." She said blandly, angering Bakugo with how little she seemed to care.

Once the match was started, Bakugo leapt forward, pulling an arm back. "I'll knock you out in an instant!" He roared. "Now die!" The blonde threw a haymaker, releasing his quirk at the point of impact.

Momo was prepared for the charge and rolled out of the way, her body glowing briefly. When she came up on her knees, Bakugo found himself staring down the barrel of a shotgun. Before he could blink, his world exploded in pain and he stumbled backwards.

"That's match." Aizawa droned out.

Bakugo rubbed his chest to ease the pain and looked down to see he was out of bounds. "You bitch! Resorting to using a gun?"

"Feel lucky that she used rock salt." Aizawa cut in. "Anything more from that close of a range could have done some serious damage or outright killed you. That being said, you underestimated her. For all your bluster, she beat you in a second. If she were a villain, you would be dead."

Jiro looked dumbfounded by the exchange. "Told you it would be over in seconds." Izuku smirked when she glared at him.

"Shut up, you!" Jiro punched him in the arm before demanding answers from her friend.

"Uraraka, Midoriya." Aizawa gestured for the two to take their places.

"Ah… fuck." Izuku groaned out. "This is gonna suck…" He grumbled to himself. An idea popped in his head suddenly. "Hey, Aizawa! Is the roof considered out of bounds?"

Aizawa shrugged his shoulders at the unusual question. "As long as you don't touch the ground outside the circle, no. Walls, ceiling, and the like are fair game."

"Oh thank god for that." Izuku let out a sigh. "Uraraka, don't hold back on me in that case. I can survive a fall from the roof, so go all out alright?"

"If you say so…" Uraraka gave him an unsure look.

"Quick question. Did you make any progress on what we talked about last?" Izuku asked curiously, falling into a stance, pulling his staff off his back.

"That would be telling. You'll just have to find out for yourself, won't you?" Uraraka smiled and prepped herself.

Izuku threw himself forward as soon as the word was given, crossing the short distance quickly. Since he had been training with Itsuka on his fighting style, Izuku had gotten better about his control and adjusting to his reach, but it was barely passable at this point. Thus, he used his staff as an extension of himself to bridge the gap.

The two started a brief back and forth where Izuku spun his staff, striking out and knocking Uraraka's grasping hands out of the way while making sure not to put enough strength in it to actually hurt her.

Uraraka made the mistake of grabbing onto his staff because he quickly used it against her and lifted her into the air, only to slam her down on her back a moment later.

Uraraka was only out for a moment though before she was back on her feet and charging him, this time weaving under his swift strikes to slap his chest with her hand.

Izuku immediately felt his weight leave him and grinned at her and pushed off of her, propelling himself backwards. As soon as he was a far enough distance away from her, he stabbed the staff into the ground and used it as an anchor to plant his feet firmly on the ground.

"I've got you now." Uraraka grinned at him. "All I have to do is send you flying away and release my quirk and you'll fall out of bounds."

"Oh, I'm not going to make it that easy for you." Izuku replied happily. He pulled the staff from the ground and, with as much strength as he could muster, shot himself into the air at a frighteningly fast pace. Uraraka watched in confusion as he grabbed onto a beam on the roof and hooked one of his feet around it, replacing his staff on his back. "From up here, you can't get me. Even if you release your quirk, I won't fall."

"But from up there you won't be able to do anything to me." Uraraka reasoned. "It's a stalemate unless you come back down. And if you do, I'm sure the fall will be more than enough to give me the upper hand to throw you out of bounds before you can recover."

Izuku spread his arms, still upside down while hooked to the roof. "You seem to forget that I'm not alone. Tell me, how confident are you about fighting multiple opponents at once?"

Uraraka didn't have to guess what he was asking. A howl interrupted everything. She turned to the sound just as the doors to the gym crashed open. She didn't know how to react as they all charged into the room, all of the birds they had seen previously circling above her while two dogs, a gray wolf, and a panther circled around her.

"Last chance to give up, Uraraka. I can promise nothing permanent, but I can't promise this won't hurt." Izuku taunted her from the ceiling.

Uraraka frowned and touched her fingers together, whispering under her breath to release her quirk. She touched her forearm and felt her weight lighten. "Don't underestimate me. I'll make you eat your words. Your pets don't scare me."

"Come get me then." Izuku grinned back down at her, his eyes starting to gloss over.

Uraraka pushed off the ground, small cylindrical objects popping out the sides of her boots. A low whine was all the warning the class had before she burst towards the ceiling, much to their surprise. The birds immediately started to bombard her, attacking her from all sides so she couldn't take a direct route towards Izuku.

So focused on dodging the birds and knocking them out of the way, Uraraka didn't have time to focus on Izuku, thinking he was stuck where he was. A scream from someone in the class had her looking over to see Izuku lose his grip on the beam. She quickly diverted her flight path to catch him, not noticing the birds were getting out of her way.

Uraraka reached out to touch him, but was surprised when he turned towards her with a grin and wrapped his hand around her wrist and twisted them around as they fell. The spinning made her experience a sense of vertigo and she lost control of the jets on her ankles and shut them off.

Izuku twisted them about again just in time to land on his feet with Uraraka in his arms. He swore under his breath as he knees buckled under the sudden pressure. He ignored the feeling in favor of pinning Uraraka to the ground.

Uraraka fought against his superior strength, only pausing when his eyes flashed and a snake dropped down on his back, having been released from one of the birds. The snake wrapped around his neck and bared its fangs in front of her face.

"I give!" Uraraka cried out. A moment later, Izuku was off of her and helping her to her feet.

"You're too noble for your own good." Izuku dusted himself off, grinning under his mask. "You should have just let me fall. I was counting on you trying to catch me."

The duo rejoined their class, the animals stalking behind them. "I thought you said you had over sixty animals. Where are the rest?" Aizawa asked once they got close.

Izuku couldn't stop himself from casting a glace over at Momo before turning fully to the teacher. "I have them out on a personal errand. Also, not all of them are suited for combat. It's a little hard to find a way to get spiders to fight." He paused and adopted a thoughtful expression. "Though, if I could get my hands on some venomous spiders and more snakes, I could use them in surprise attacks. Have birds drop them from above or even have them sneak around. It's easy to overlook animals until it's too late. Koda!"

Said teen perked up at his name being called, his head cocking to the side.

"Think you can send out another request for me after class is over? I have something I could use a ton of inconspicuous animals for." Izuku asked excitedly.

Aizawa gave himself a mental reminder to keep an eye on Izuku. That look he had sent Yaoyorozu would be worrying depending on whatever task he had those animals out for. Whatever it was that he was doing, if it involved venomous creatures, then it wasn't a good thing.

* * *

Conversation in the locker rooms was at an all-time high. Adrenaline was still pumping and few found themselves with the time or desire to calm down. Even Momo, who was usually more reserved, was joining in on the excitement. She was the first one done with her shower and was deep into conversation with Himiko while she dried herself off.

"You know. I think the only other person that was more happier that you humiliated Bakugo like that was Izuku." Himiko giggled, wrapping her towel around her waist.

"It's happier, not more happier." Momo admonished her friend. "Though, he did look rather pleased when I saw him after the fight." She grinned back at the blonde.

"You know." Momo could tell by the sound of her voice that Himiko was about to tease her. "I'm sure Izuku would be willing to give you another experience like this morning if you wanted. I could even put in a good word for you."

Momo blushed violently. "Would you stop with that already? It was an accident and nothing happened."

"Oh don't be like that." Himiko stalked closer to the taller woman, her form rippling. In a few short heartbeats a clone of Izuku was stalking towards her, his voice deep. "Why don't we practice a little? You'll have more confidence the next time we do this in person."

Momo spun around to avert her eyes from her nearly naked friend. "Himiko!" She screamed in embarrassment and panic, freezing up when his arms encircled her from behind making her realize she was only dressed in a pair of panties. "Don't just touch me so casually when you're pretending to be Izuku!"

"Don't be that way. I have all but direct permission from him." Himiko teased, still in Izuku's voice. It wasn't a lie because Izuku had given her permission to use his body whenever she felt like she needed to, but she wasn't so sure he would be happy with him using it like this.

Little did the two know, but an invisible girl was watching in surprise at the interaction. 'Just what are they playing at? Did something happen between Izuku and Momo?' Toru grabbed her clothes and quickly darted to another part of the locker room, hearing Himiko's voice cackling indicating she had changed back.

"Oh!" Himiko's tone changed in a split second. "Gimme your phone, I need to borrow it for a bit." She told Momo, holding her hand out demandingly.

* * *

Later that night, Toru decided to go out for a walk after dinner. She didn't get very far before she came to a stop, recognizing one of her classmates not too far ahead of her, sitting under a tree. 'Would be nice to have some company.' She thought to herself and made her way over.

"Hey Izuku!" She called out. He gave no outward reaction and instead continued to stare ahead as if he hadn't heard her. Getting closer, she grew highly concerned when she noticed he was sneering and his eyes were glassed over. "Izuku?" She asked, squatting down in front of him.

Still no response.

Growing more concerned, she shook his shoulder. It was hard to move him with how rigid he was sitting. She had heard about these moments from Himiko before and that he would come out of it eventually. She resigned herself to worrying about him by sitting next to him and waiting.

Ten minutes later Izuku released a sigh and blinked.

"Izuku!" Toru cried out.

Izuku jumped in surprise, falling away from his invisible friend. "Holy shit, Toru! A little warning next time!"

"You were the one unresponsive and practically comatose!" She rebutted. " You had me worried!" The red head took a breath to calm herself. "Toga said you're usually still 'awake' when you're like that, so what were you thinking about when you were like that?"

"Ah…" Izuku scratched his cheek, wondering how much he could reveal. "Well… You see…"

"Spit it out already."

"Alright, alright. You know about how Momo's parents are being jackasses?" Toru nodded. "It pisses me off that they aren't supportive of her. I found out how superstitious they are, so I'm using that to my advantage to fuck with them. I have one of my critters delivering a letter currently. I was observing to make sure it got delivered."

"How so?" Toru asked cautiously. "How can you mess with them while you're here?"

"I'm sending the dead ravens to follow them around whenever they upset her. It's not much, but it'll be enough to freak them out for a while. If they keep it up though, I'll get more drastic." Izuku shrugged his shoulders.

"Does Momo know about this?" Toru asked. "I don't think she would be happy about it."

"Then we shouldn't tell her it's me." He smiled to himself. "I don't need her to know it's me doing this. I know what it's like to have no one believe in you, least of all your family."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm quirkless, and everything that goes on with that. I've wanted to be a hero for a long time, ever since I knew what heroes were. I was looked down on for a long time. Even Bakugo bullied me for it until I died." Izuku explained with a sad smile.

"Bakugo bullied you?"

"Not anymore." He explained waving her worry off absentmindedly. "He's afraid of me now. He wouldn't dare try and bully me."

Not wanting to talk about such depressing topics, Toru changed the subject. "How is Miss Midnight doing? I wanted to talk to her to see how she's doing, but with her being back home to rest up after everything that happened…"

"She's doing good." Izuku smiled, his head turning to look off in the distance, raising his hand to point. "She's at Yu's apartment still. Whatever she's doing right now, she's really calm and happy."

Toru looked at him in surprise. "How do you know that?"

Izuku tapped over his heart. "She still has a piece of me in her so it's like an echo in my soul. I can't tell exactly what's going on or what she is feeling, but I can get a general feeling for her physical and mental state. I had to learn how to block out the connection when she and Yu started to get intimate." He shuddered briefly, a haunted look in his eyes.

Toru laughed at his expression. "That's good then. I'm happy she's doing alright." Toru smiled gently.

The two settled into a comfortable silence for a short period of time. Eventually, something that had been nagging at Toru made her speak up. "So, you wanna tell me why you've been avoiding nearly the entire class since the incident?"

Izuku cocked his head to the side in thought. "What do you mean?"

"You've barely been around anyone other than mealtimes. You were a lot better today, but until just now, you haven't said two words to me and practically ignored my existence."

Izuku paused for a few seconds. He hadn't realized he had been doing that. Looking back, he could see how it would appear he was in fact avoiding everyone. "I didn't mean to." He finally said. "I've just been so focused on trying to get control of myself that I've been ignoring everything around me."

"Well, Himiko's been the only one that you've been doing anything with lately."

"That's because she won't leave me alone." Izuku smirked. "She's a constant thorn in my side and won't let me have more than a few moments to myself. She's like a damn cat. Scratches everything up, comes around when she wants to and won't do what you want her to unless it's something she wants to do."

"You telling me that if I decided I wasn't going to leave you alone, then I could stick around?" Toru teased, pushing his shoulder playfully.

"Sure, whatever you say. You'll just have to do what Himiko does."

"And what would that be?"

Izuku snorted. "Invade my bed and refuse to give me any privacy. I have to use Momo to get her out of my hair."

"You still need to make up for avoiding me for so long. I'd hate to lose the one person that I don't have to over-animate myself around." Toru waved her hands around.

"What do you suggest?" Izuku asked with a small smile.

"You're going to take Jiro and I out again like we did before school actually started." Toru gave him a withering look, daring him to deny her.

Izuku held his hands up in defeat. "I'd be happy to do that. It'd be nice to have some time away from all this once in a while."

* * *

**A/N: Much thanks to Natsu Is Awesome for assisting with this chapter!**


	11. Plans

**Chapter 11: Plans**

**A/N: Special thanks to Natsu Is Awesome for betaing for me here. Sorry for the delay in chapters. My work schedule is all kinds of messed up with everything that's going on lately.**

* * *

**[Unknown Bunker]**

"Sir!" A young boy in a suit barged through the door of the office, not bothering to knock. The door slammed against the wall with a resounding crash, the boy looking positively joyous.

"Son of a-" The vial in the only other figure's hands dropping from his hand and shattering on the metal desktop. "You better have a good reason for interrupting me here, Vulcan."

The boy waved off the man's anger. "Bah, just get the brat to give you more."

"Her body has broken down too many times recently. The cells are hardly staying together, I had to give her a couple of days of rest."

"I'm sure you've planned fo—"

"Vulcan!" The man roared out, having lost his patience.

"Right, boss!" The boy snapped up straight. "We just received a call from our contact. They were able to get a couple of tickets for our men to get inside without drawing any attention."

"We already had tickets. How does it help us to have more?" The man turned his attention away from the boy to look at the mess of blood and glass mixing with his papers and other materials. He shuddered at the sight and quickly moved to start cleaning everything.

"General admittance, yes. But! Our contact pulled some strings I didn't realize he had access to and got us four tickets specially for heroes and companies looking to sponsor the next generation!" Vulcan looked happy with himself. After all, it was him that had reached out to this contact in the first place so they wouldn't have gotten such a spectacular place without him.

"I take it you already have a list of who you think should be given these spots? We need someone intelligent enough, but not obvious enough to get themselves caught."

"But of course, boss! I have just the lady for the job!" Vulcan nodded seriously, his grin still ever present.

* * *

**[U.A. Dorms]**

Izuku jerked back at the feeling of a warm hand on his shoulder, looking over his shoulder to see Himiko standing there with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. "Have you even slept yet?" She asked, a frown marring her features.

Letting out a sigh, Izuku dropped his phone down on the desk and rubbed his face with his hand. A quick look at the bright red numbers of his alarm clock told him it was nearly three in the morning. With his issue staying conscious lately, he had been staying up later and later to get done what he felt he needed done before the day was out. His silence did not sit well with the blonde and she continued to make her worry known, slipping around him to sit in his lap, taking his phone from him to find it completely dead.

"Have you really been sitting here the entire night? I thought you were going to come to bed with me." She pouted cutely at him. She stopped when he gave her an unimpressed stare. "Were your schemes at least fruitful?"

Izuku hummed quietly, wracking his mind to try and remember what he had been working on. He stared blankly at the phone in Himiko's hand. "Nothing worth worrying over, just some correspondence with David's daughter about what he has me working on."

"You choose to talk to a girl thousands of miles away when I'm in your bed naked? Should I be worried?" Himiko leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Anyways." Izuku gave her an exasperated look, not feeling up to playing into her games. "I have a task for you if you're up for it."

"Ooooh! It's been too long since you've had something for me. Do I get to hurt someone?" If Izuku was put off by the maniacal gleam in her eye, he didn't show it.

"What blood has Recovery Girl supplied you with lately?" He asked.

"Most of the teachers were willing to supply me, aside from All Might that is. Midnight set a condition to use hers though. She wants to be present any time I use it or take her form. She has okayed emergency uses, but would rather I use someone else unless necessary." She perked up, giving him a smile at having some good news for him.

"Mmm, that's rather useful. How much time do you think you have in any of their bodies before you have to revert back? I know you can't last all that long yet." He wrapped his arms around her waist and closed his eyes, running the plan through his mind again.

"With what I have already taken? I have enough left over to take Aizawa's, Mic's, and Cementoss' forms for a few minutes, but once I take form, I'll be out of time for each. I've used up nearly all of the collected time training. But I think I can get more from Granny Chiyo." She quickly remedied the issue with a plan of her own.

"No." He said after a few moments of thinking. "We'll have to make due with what you have already. For what I have planned, we can't draw any attention to ourselves." He moved her to one of his legs so he could rifle through his desk and pull out a scrap piece of paper and a pen. "Before the festival, I need you to acquire blood from these people. Do not let them catch you doing it. Use the teacher's bodies, or other students. Hell, use Bakugo if you have to, but make sure to plan accordingly for your alibi and whatnot. I don't care how you get his blood if you do, but don't let him know you're keeping it. Make a show of being disgusted by it or something, use your imagination. You're used to this kind of work so I'll leave the details to you."

Himiko looked over the list he had given her, frowning to herself. The names weren't of loners and it would be hard for her to pull off. '_This is the first thing he has had me doing other than spreading information. It doesn't matter how hard it is, I have to do it._' She thought to herself.

"What's the plan for after we have their blood? And how much do we need?" She asked after memorizing the list, going with her go to for destroying information and shoving the small piece of paper in her mouth.

Izuku couldn't hold back the small smile at seeing Himiko getting excited. "Enough for you to take form for five minutes a piece, no more."

"Alright. I can do that. Do you care about the fallout people take if I'm using their bodies or do I have free reign here?"

"Don't be too over the top and get people questioning it, but do what you need to do." Izuku picked Himiko up and pulled her over to the bed, dropping her onto it. After shutting off the lights, he laid down next to her. A couple hours of sleep wouldn't be remiss.

"Perfect." Izuku didn't have to see her to know Himiko was grinning from ear to ear in excitement. "Don't worry Zuzu, I'll make you proud." She curled up into his side and after a few minutes of listening to his rhythmic heartbeat, found herself losing consciousness.

* * *

Himiko silently snuck out of the room a few hours later, leaving Izuku to wake up on his own. She already had a plan, but a lot of it would hedge on her ability to make things appear normal. After a quick stop by her own room, she enacted her plan. Her form rippled, growing in size as she took on another persona, black hair falling over her right eye as she grew and she adjusted her posture and stride to match the form.

A quick knock on her target's door was enough for her to shudder involuntarily. Even being this close made her feel disgusted. A grumble at the other side of the door gave her enough of a warning to school her features into a bashful smile, biting her bottom lip as seductively as she could manage.

"It's too early for this, what do you-" The short boy that opened the door froze in shock at who he saw at the door. "Y-yaoyoruzu?"

"I couldn't sleep." She whispered quietly, one arm under her bust while grabbing the opposite's elbow in an attempt to push her chest up higher. "D-do you think I can come in?" It took everything she had not to vomit at the perverse grin Mineta was sporting.

"I knew you couldn't resist forever." Mineta pulled the door open just enough for 'Momo' to step through, his hand gliding over her ass as she passed.

As soon as the door was shut however, 'Momo' spun on him. He didn't see the attack coming, nor the rippling of her arm changing before the large undead fist crashed into the top of his skull, sending him sprawling back a few inches, knocking him out before he could even hit the ground.

'Momo' glared down at her target with disdain. "You're lucky Zuzu won't let me kill you, you disgusting little parasite." She growled down at the unconscious teen. She squatted down, pulling out her supplies from a small bag she had with her. The faster she got this over with, the sooner she could go back and take a nice hot shower to clean herself.

In a matter of minutes, she extracted her bounty. She grabbed him by his foot and drug him over to the adjoined bathroom and unceremoniously threw him into the room, grinning to herself when he crumpled into the corner. A few moments of preparation and she made it appear that he had slipped in the shower and hit his head. The bruise already forming over his eye would easily be explained away by him hitting his head on the way down, the small splattering of blood she spread across the water spout only further backed up the notion that he had imagined Momo's presence. Nodding at her work, she was confident that even if he remembered 'Momo' appearing at his door, no one would believe him and there would be no proof after she left.

Once she was sure he wouldn't drown, she erased all evidence of her presence in the room, 'Momo' left with purposeful yet unhurried strides back to her room where she put her bounty with her other supplies, then rushed into the bathroom to scrub the filth she could feel clinging to her skin even after she dropped her transformation.

A quick change of clothes later and Himiko slipped her spare key into Momo's door and she snuck inside. With practiced ease the blonde silently slipped through the room and pocketed the taller woman's phone. Taking one more glance at the sleeping beauty, Himiko couldn't help the gentle smile that crossed her lips at seeing her in such peace. The serene smile Momo wore warmed her heart, even if the reason for it threatened to fill her with dread. The reason was the short-haired punk rocker that lay in her arms.

Taking the note she had prewritten, she slipped it into Jiro's hand, letting them know that she had borrowed Momo's phone and would give it to her when they met up for class.

Now, she liked Jiro. Hell, Himiko would even say she loved the girl. Jiro's witty comebacks and teasing nature endeared the young woman to Himiko, not to mention Jiro's growing skill and appreciation of Himiko's favorite tools. Himiko didn't want to admit it, but Jiro was a much better friend for Momo than she could ever be. She just had too many secrets and such a dark past that she didn't know if Momo would accept her. Even with how big Momo's heart was, Himiko didn't think their friendship would survive if she learned that Himiko had previously been classified as a villain. Maybe someday she would tell her friend about her past, but for now things were fine as they were.

Izuku was the only one that truly understood her, accepted her even. But it would only be a matter of time until he ran out of uses for her. Once that happened, he would grow tired of her presence and would leave her broken yet again.

The blonde forcefully shook the depressive thoughts out of her head and quit the room, silently shutting the door behind her. She had a task to complete after all, and even if Izuku had given her a couple of days to get it done; Himiko knew that to prove her place by his side she would make sure to have it done before the day was done.

As soon as the door was shut, Jiro peaked out from under the covers, having heard the girl sneak in and had heard the girl mumbling. Jiro didn't fully understand what Himiko had been saying, but she knew everyone had secrets. Instead of worrying about it, Jiro read the note in her hand in the dim morning light and barely held back an amused snort before snuggling back into her taller friend. A few seconds later she fell back asleep, enjoying the protective warmth of Momo's arms.

* * *

**[U.A. Cafeteria]**

"I'm telling you; she came to my room this morning!" Mineta tried to keep his voice down, but his friends' refusal to listen to his experience was getting to him.

"Right. The Amazonian Goddess shows up at your room at the early morning hours and leaves you unconscious in your bathroom, bleeding from your face. That sounds exactly like something she would do." Kaminari rolled his eyes, taking a moment to glance over to the woman in question. He also trailed his eyes over those that had surrounded the class' representative. Himiko and Jiro had been practically glued to her sides for nearly the entire week, not that it was any surprise. Everyone could tell that something was bothering her and those two were probably her closest female friends. The surprising presence had been the residential two-toned Todoroki. Somehow, he had gleamed what the other two girls were doing and had taken it a step further.

Todoroki was just sitting down across from Momo, setting a tray of high fat, yet moderately healthy food in front of her. Kaminari couldn't hear what she said, but going by the careless shrug from Todoroki lead him to believe she was exasperated with all of the over-the-top care she was receiving. "You look out for all of us enough as it is, it was the least I could do." Todoroki's quiet voice carried through the loud lunchroom, an air of deep respect and affection clashing against the blank expression he wore.

"She was wearing a bathrobe and everything." Kaminari turned back to see stars in Mineta's eyes. "I can't remember what happened after she came in, but I know something had to have happened between us! You'll see! Maybe she's ashamed of her perversion and had to come to me because she knew I would be able to take care of her~."

A wave of cold froze the table's inhabitants, a wave of fear running over each of them. As one they turned to see Jiro's furious glare directed at them. They watched as Himiko, unseen to the other two at the table, passed Jiro a butterfly knife behind Momo's back. Himiko was consoling Momo by rubbing her back, her hunched demeanor leading the trio of perverts to believe she had overheard Mineta's exclamations.

Todoroki, who they had previously thought the cold wave had come from, was devoting all of his attention to his friend. Taking her hands up in his, a flash of white encompassed their hands and when he pulled back it there was an orchid made of ice resting in her palms.

"Don't listen to anything he says." Jiro said sweetly. "I'll teach him to spread rumors~." Just as she was pushing to her feet, Mineta jumped to his feet and took off out of the room, screaming for mercy.

Things calmed down quickly after the instigator left. Himiko's phone buzzed and she took a peek, seeing a message from Izuku. **Get her phone away from her right now!**

"Alright, Mo. Gimme the phone." She held her hand out demandingly after pocketing her own.

Momo hugged her phone to her chest with a pout. "You've got your own." She said defensively.

"Nope, none of that. Hand it over or I'll just tickle you until you give it up." Himiko's grin told everyone that she might end up doing that anyways.

"No, I've had enough of this!" Momo suddenly snapped and tightened her hold on her phone. "Tell me what's going on! All this cloak and dagger stuff, just tell me what's going on."

"As your friend." Himiko stated with a small sigh. "I'm the only one that's allowed to be a bad influence on you. As such, no one is allowed to talk bad about you or put you down. That's all I can say, now gimme."

Before she could respond, Momo's phone began to ring and looking at it, she saw that it was her parents calling. Her moment of surprise was enough for Himiko to reach out and snatch it from her, declining the call. "Hey!"

"Like I said. I'm the only person allowed to be a bad influence on you." Himiko sneered down at the phone then stuffed it into her shirt. "I still don't understand why you let them talk to you like that."

"You don't understand." Momo defended herself, not bothering to get her phone back. She had tried in the past, but Himiko was oddly adamant about keeping her from her own parents. "They only want what's best for me, and they are worried. I'm an only child and they think that their competitors are out to get me. We had a couple of attempts when I was really young and my nanny tried to hand me off. After that they always had some form of bodyguard following me around."

Todoroki nodded in understanding. He had heard his father complaining about his agency being hired to guard people in the past. "At least that shows they care."

"Well, since I'm here… U.A. doesn't allow anyone not in the curriculum to be on campus, so my parents aren't able to have someone act as a bodyguard."

"You don't need one." Himiko nodded at her own words. "I mean, you have one of the most versatile quirks out there. With proper training and imagination, you could very well pass All Might even."

"The recent attack has only solidified their stance that I'm not strong enough to protect myself. If it wasn't for you and Izuku, they probably would have gotten me. I'm not going to give up yet, not with everyone helping me and all the work I've put into this. I know I can do some good out there." Momo smiled sadly. "I'm hoping to prove to them that I belong here during the Sports Festival."

"You can't compare yourself to Broccoli Boy." Jiro snorted "Call it calloused if you must, but he literally has nothing to lose. He's undead. Besides, you did a hell of a lot more than half of the class during the incident. When people were panicking, you and Kendo came up with a plan to help the pros. After everyone got separated, you lead the effort to get everyone back together. Without you, there's a good chance most of us could have gotten more hurt, or even not have made it back at all. By your parents' logic, none of us should be here and we should all go back home so we can be protected."

"We are here to learn how to be heroes, how to protect those that cannot protect themselves. Sometimes we need help to do that. Hell, you beat the Murder Pomeranian in your last fight!" Himiko yelled out, throwing her arms up in the air. "Bakugo had no chance against you." Todoroki nodded at that, remembering quite well how quick the fight had been over.

Momo held a hand up to her heart and smiled warmly, blinking away the tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks. She had always known she had friends here, but to hear their encouragement and how much faith they had in her made her happier than she thought it would. She took a deep, calming breath then wiped at her eyes. "Thank you, all of you. But, Himiko… That doesn't explain why you won't let me talk to them. It doesn't make them a bad influence if they are worried about me."

"Ah, well…" Himiko scratched her cheek in embarrassment. "I just don't like seeing you sad and every time you talk to them, it takes most of the day to get your spirits back up. I don't want you to go through that if I can help it. I'm gonna keep doing it too. At least until the Festival. You can prove to them that this is where you need to be."

"Is that why you keep deleting the texts that they send me?" Momo asked.

"I've dealt with people not believing in you before. I know how much it sucks, so you'll let me take care of it until you're good and ready." Himiko ignored the continuous buzzing from the phone she had stuffed into her shirt.

"How did you even know they were about to call?" Jiro spoke up again.

"I had no idea. Zuzu knew."

"Is he the one giving you all the warnings?" Jiro asked, even more curious.

"Sometimes it's a timeframe that he gives me, other times its much more urgent. Like today."

"Where is Izuku?" Momo asked, looking around. "How would he even know about my parents calling? That's more than a little suspect that he would have that much information at his disposal."

"I have no idea. He and Tokoyami disappeared the moment class ended." Himiko shrugged, knowing that if it was important or he needed her, Izuku would come find her. He would probably tell her if she asked, but right now she didn't feel the need to know. Besides, she wasn't done with her own task yet. She could ask him once she had something tangible for him. "As for how he knows? I think it has something to do with the fact that he has been in your situation before."

"How do you mean?" It was Todoroki that spoke up this time, growing more interested in the conversation now that the past of their mysterious classmate had come up. Not many knew anything about Izuku other than he was essentially quirkless and that not even Izuku fully understood his own abilities.

Himiko dropped her voice as well as her eyes. "Don't let him know that I told you, he's still a little touchy about it." The other three nodded their heads seriously, growing more intrigued. "From the time that he was pronounced quirkless, Izuku has been beat down by society. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how quirkless individuals are viewed out there."

"Nearly a third of quirkless children commit suicide before they can graduate from Highschool." Momo mumbled, remembering one of the statistics she had read. "That number increases the older they get."

"It was worse for Zuzu. He wanted to be a hero, always has, and just that fact brought more hate towards him. His mom, until her death, didn't want him to be a hero either. He says he had a really good relationship with her, but that was always something that was rough between them." Himiko gave a sad smile. "Even some local Pro Heroes had the audacity to tell him that he couldn't be a hero. Despite all that, he's here and pushing himself to his limits. Because he wants to help people, wants to make the world a better place. No matter what it takes."

"I'm not condoning it…" Momo spoke up after a few seconds. "But I understand where his mother was coming from. Being quirkless, he would be at a severe disadvantage against villains. He would be a liability if he didn't have the abilities that he has now."

"Would you say the same thing to Kendo?" Himiko asked seriously, quirking an eyebrow.

"Why would I do that? She has a quirk that helps her fight."

"She has big hands. That's her quirk." Himiko held up a hand when Momo made to interrupt her. "What about Ojiro? He has a tail. That's it. Neither of them gets a huge strength boost out of it. But they play to their strengths, they train themselves to be the best that they can and they are putting themselves on the line for their dreams and to help people." She added. "There have been quirkless heroes before, like in America. Back near the beginning of quirks, when villains were more plentiful because no one knew how to stop them, there were two huge heroes that didn't have quirks. Batman and Robin were some of the biggest names out there, able to stop some of the worst villains that had quirks with nothing more than gadgets and their brains. But everyone forgets about them when there's a kid that can throw sticky balls out of his head, or another that can breathe underwater."

"By today's standards both of them would be considered vigilantes." Todoroki supplied. "But I see where you are going with it. At the time, they were willing to do what they thought was necessary and in turn made the world a better place."

Himiko made sure they were all still paying attention before going on. "What I'm saying, is that it isn't the quirk that makes you a hero. It's the person behind the quirk that makes the hero. Even if Izuku didn't have his superhuman strength or his ability to split his soul to prevent someone from dying, he would still be out there. Even if he was alone, even if you all hated him for it, he would keep doing what he thought was right, no matter the consequences." She turned all of her attention to Momo. "That's why he knows what it's like for you. He knows what it's like to have the one you care about the most not believe in you and the desire to keep pushing so you can help people."

"I was not expecting you to go off on a tangent like that, Himiko." Jiro was so shocked that she forewent her usual nickname for the blonde.

"Yeah, well keep it to yourselves." Himiko pushed herself to her feet. "I gotta go. Mo, I'll get you your phone back during class. I have something I need to do before that though."

"Wait, you don't need to keep it anymore now that I know what you're doing…" Momo tried, but Himiko merely waved over her shoulder as she walked away.

* * *

**[Yaoyoruzu Industries]**

Ichiya Yaoyoruzu was not a man that was easily flappable. He was a stern, strong willed man. He had to be to work the deals that he had pushed through to bring his business to new heights after he inherited it from his father-in-law. Marrying into the Yaoyoruzu family had been a great boon for him, but right at that moment he would give away every single yen that he had to his name to keep his daughter safe. The only thing he held above the family business was his wife Miko and his daughter Momo.

For as strong willed as he was, the man was in a near panic. He had been trying to call his daughter for the past fifteen minutes with no response. Sure, he knew that she was in class, but she always knew that their calls were meant to be taken immediately, especially lately after that kidnapping attempt at that school of hers. The most recent message he had found sitting on his windowsill had worried him beyond measure. The window was closed and he hadn't left the room, so he had no inkling on how it had arrived to sit there. Seeing it had nearly sent him into a panic, and that was before he had even gotten around to reading it.

After not reaching their daughter, Miko had calmed him down enough saying that they could wait until either Momo called them back, or an hour had passed. After that hour, they would go the alternate route and contact the school to get her to call them. He deferred to his wife, but it didn't help his worry that she had been taking longer and longer to return their calls as more time passed since the kidnapping attempt.

He took a moment to look away from the phone on his desk to take in his wife who was standing by the window. She looked as calm as ever, but he knew better. To anyone that knew her, Miko was a picture of serenity and a sea of confidence. Ichiya knew her better than that. He had always, _always_, been able to read her better than even her parents were. Just looking at her, almost like it was a sixth sense, he could feel the tension in her muscles.

Miko didn't have the usual tells that other had. When she was nervous, she showed perfection. Instead of fidgeting, she kept completely still, her movements were far more fluid than usual, and her breathing was measured and controlled. The only thing that outwardly showed her nervousness was the subtle twitching of her left arm. Underneath the jacket she wore, it was nearly imperceptible but Ichiya knew what he was looking for.

Ichiya himself was the opposite of his wife. He had already ruined his hair from the amount of times he had ran his hands through it and he was practically wearing a hole in the ground behind his desk, his attention never leaving the phone. He had already chewed two of his nails down until there was nothing left.

"Dear." His wife's voice snapped him out of his current ramblings, his dress shoe scuffing across the pristine carpet. He followed her eyes down towards the table. So focused had he been, he hadn't even noticed that he had activated his quirk. All forms of paper had moved to take shape. There were pictures of his daughter, more than one important contract had folded themselves into a paper doll with near perfect symmetry to how he remembered her the day they had dropped her off at that accursed school.

The only paper that hadn't been touched, that letter, even in his fear his quirk hadn't dared touch it. As much as he wanted to destroy it, he didn't dare. It wasn't the first threatening letter that they had received before. No, their company had many competitors that were willing to use criminals and villains to do their dirty work. That was why Ichiya had purchased bodyguards starting at a young age for his daughter.

But these new letters were far different from the usual ones they received. These new letters never demanded money, nor did they make any demands of them. Not at first anyways. Prior to today, they had been warnings, warnings of their actions against their daughter pushing her further away instead of bringing her home.

Today hadn't been a warning. Today had been an outright threat.

The moment his cell phone rang, Ichiya snatched it up. "Momo?" He tried to keep the anxiety from his voice the best he could.

"Apologies father, I was not in a position to answer my phone. Is everything alright? You sound frightened." His daughter's worry did a lot to ease his racing heart.

"We got another threatening letter today. I needed to make sure that you were safe." He responded, his wife gliding up to him to rest a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't see why you would worry about something like that. That's why you hire that security company, is it not?" Momo responded, using logic to back up her claims. "Why should you be worried about me though? I have no ties to the company."

Miko held out her hand for the phone when Ichiya looked to be having trouble. "Little Raven. What your father hasn't been able to tell you is that for the past couple of weeks the letters have been different. All of them have been about you directly, not the company."

"O-oh. That would explain the increased worry as of late. Why did you wait so long to tell me?"

Miko sighed, her shoulders loosening as she released some of the stress she had pent up. "We were hoping to take care of things before we had to get you involved."

"If I'm as weak as you say I am, then the early warning would have been nice." Momo's voice dropped low and quiet, near a whisper.

Miko felt her heart wrench, finding her mouth drying out. Momo however spoke up before she could deny her daughter's claim. "What changed, why tell me now when you wouldn't say something before?"

"Before, the letters had told us to treat you better, to support you. It shames me to admit it, but it made me think about a lot of things. We haven't properly supported you in your endeavors to be a hero. Today's letter wasn't a warning." Miko looked over at her husband who was sitting in his large office chair. She put the phone on speaker and set it down on the table.

"Did they threaten you?" Momo's worrying tone was back.

"Not directly. Listen to what they wrote. _Make the right choice, or we'll make it for you_… I have to confess, for as much as it worries me that they can get through our security without being caught or seen, it is rather curious." Ichiya released another sigh.

"Have you taken this to the police?" Momo asked.

"And tell them what? That someone is mysteriously sending us letters telling us to treat our daughter better? No actual threats have been made. The only thing we could complain about is the bird that have been watching us. I swear, it has to be the same raven following us around. I know it is, it's missing an eye."

"Bird?" Momo asked incredulously. "You're afraid that a bird is watching you? I know you are rather superstitious father, but this seems to be taking it a little far."

"Be careful, Little Raven." Miko frowned down at the phone. "I feel that whoever is sending us these letters is trying to drive us apart so we won't be there for you if you need us. If anything happens, I'll be coming to take you away myself. Having you so far away has only made us worry more. It's becoming distracting to your father and I when we work. It would make the both of us feel so much better if we could have you back home where you belong, where we can protect you."

Momo let out a huff of breath. "I won't be leaving, mother. I appreciate you worrying about me, but I'm stronger than you can even imagine. This is where I belong." With that, Momo hung up the phone.

Momo's fingers darted across the screen, deleting all evidence of the phone call before forwarding all phone calls and text messages from all of Momo's parents' phones to another. With a shake of her head, her skin rippled and Himiko pocketed the phone and rushed back to class.

* * *

Finally, the day had come. The day that he would start to enact his long-term plans. Undoubtedly, he was sure he was going to ruffle some feathers today, but the headache they sent his way would be worth it in the end.

Himiko on the other hand. She had come through for him far better than he had ever hoped she would. She had gotten exactly what he requested, attaining blood from the six individuals he had requested and thus far he hadn't heard any questions about her doing so, nor had the individuals seemed aware of what had happened. He had watched her steamroll through several of their classmates during combat training, pushing herself to her personal limits during the fights. She hadn't won all of them, especially near the end where she was obviously tired, but she had still persevered and continued in her task.

He did feel partially guilty at the fact that he had essentially forced his friend to attack his classmates so he could use her for his future goals. Guilty, but not enough to actually stop from making the demand of her. Besides, she seemed to enjoy the job if her speedy results and bright smile afterwards were anything to go by.

"You're quiet today. Nervous?"

Izuku sent the invisible girl walking next to him a mock glare. "Like you're any better. If you keep messing with your hair anymore and it'll lose its shine." He teased.

Toru huffed and forcefully made her hand drop to her side. "Its hard having my hair so short. I haven't had it this short since I was a kid. It's been something I do since I can remember. Besides, no one will notice if I do."

Izuku gave off a mock sense of hurt. "I'm suddenly a nobody? After everything we've been through? After everything I've _seen_?"

Toru blushed and punched him in the arm when he grinned at her embarrassment. "Don't change the subject."

Izuku let out a sigh. "Fine, fine. Yeah I'm nervous. This is our first opportunity to show what we are made of to the world. Everyone has their perceptions of what we are and what we will be doing with our lives and what kind of heroes we will be. After today it will be hard to change those perceptions."

"First impressions are rather important, aren't they?" Toru added in agreement.

"We're lucky that we held our own opinions about each other until we could meet up again with Jiro." Izuku nudged her with his elbow.

"Shut up!" She blushed even more furiously and shoved him away, hiding her face in her hands immediately after. "It's not _my_ fault you can see me. There's no way I would have expected that to happen. Not that you did much better, throwing me through a window!"

"To save you from being flattened by the giant freaking robot. Yeah. My bad." He deadpanned before adorning a smirk. "Can't say I don't enjoy the view though."

Izuku pointedly ignored the gaping embarrassment Toru shot at him. He spotted a head of blonde hair tied up in twin messy buns bouncing along in the distance and his grin widened. "Sorry to cut this short, but I need to take care of something. I'll see you when we all meet up for the opening ceremony."

"Alright, don't' be late." Toru called out after him as he jogged off. As she watched him head off, she couldn't help but wonder just what was going on with Izuku. She liked that he seemed like he was open around her and felt that he didn't have to hide his emotions, but she couldn't help but feel that something felt off, like something was being forced about it.

Before she could dwell on it for long, Mina was by her side and talking excitedly. She couldn't help but smile at her best friend's excitement.

Unseen to her, Izuku had made his way over to where Himiko, Jiro, and Momo were. "You don't have to- Hey! Put me down!" Himiko cried out, pulling a knife from god knows where to threaten her unknown assailant.

Izuku ignored her outrage and threw her over his shoulder, giving a grin to his other two surprised classmates. "I'm borrowing this for a few minutes, hope you don't mind." He continued to ignore Himiko's indignant squawking and pounding of her fists on his back, throwing a wave to Momo and Jiro without waiting for a reply.

After a few moments, Himiko seemed resigned to her fate to be carried around. Izuku peaked into one of the rooms they were passing and, upon seeing it empty, entered and dropped Himiko down to her feet.

"Alright. What's the big idea kidnapping me like that? I was having a good conversation with Jiro, we were making plans about the festival." Himiko planted her fists on her hips and landed a rather fierce glare on the taller boy.

"You left before we could get around to topping you off." Izuku raised an eyebrow at her. "I need you at the top of your game today."

Himiko's glare fell and she grinned happily. "I'll be more than ready to enact your plans."

"Our plans." Izuku corrected. "You're in this just as much as I am. But, that wasn't what I was talking about." Himiko cocked her head to the side curiously at him. "Even if our plans go awry and nothing comes of it, I still want _you_ to be at the top of your game. If it comes down to enacting the plan or ensuring your spot in the task, then make sure you don't let the opportunity slip."

Himiko frowned but Izuku held up his hands placatingly. "Hear me out. We aren't going to get another chance like this. This will be the first big start for us to mold people into our beliefs." Himiko was nodding confidently at his words. "But it's just a start. If it doesn't take hold today, so be it. We can try again another time. Your future can't be restarted after today though. If you display yourself as weak, then it's going to be hard to alter their perception of you. If it's between you and our plans, you damn well better pick yourself."

Izuku didn't quite understand Himiko's sudden confusion, nor the watering of her eyes, but he didn't stop her from leaping at him. The familiar pinch of her teeth sinking into the flesh of his neck made him shudder. Her crushing grip around him did little to detract from his errant thoughts. '_Am I that calloused around her that she would expect me to discard her like that?_' The thought didn't sit well with him.

"One day this will all be over." He continued, rubbing her back while she continued to draw from him. "When it's all said and done… when you don't need to me anymore… when you find that someone in your life that makes you absolutely happy, I want to make sure you didn't harm yourself just to make me happy. You're worth much more than that, never doubt it. No matter what anyone else says, or how they perceive you, know that I can see your true worth."

* * *

**[U.A. Stadium]**

"**Welcome ladies and gentleman to the final day of the Annual U.A. Sports Festival. Just like the previous two days with the second- and third-year classes, today will be a series of events that are guaranteed to push our first-year students to their absolute limits. They will be competing against one another for the prestige of taking first place. Not only will they be competing for first place, but they are here to showcase their quirks and capabilities to all of the pro heroes looking to recruit them and help mold them into heroes themselves.**" Midnight stood at a podium wearing a bright smile, her gaze taking in all of the cheering fans in the stands.

"**It brings me great pleasure to introduce this year's students. To start things off, we have Class 1-A lead by their representative, Momo Yaoyoruzu!**" As Midnight called their class, Momo lead them out of the tunnel, all of them standing up straight while they absorbed the cheers. Some specific students could hear the cries of their parents cheering them on, Jiro in particular could hear her father weeping and had to fight off a radiant blush.

"**Following behind them is their sister class, Class 1-B lead by their Rep, Itsuka Kendo!**" She waited until the cheers had started to die down before continuing. "**As I am sure you are all aware, both of these classes were able to thwart a villain attack through their combined efforts and the efforts of their teachers. As one of the parties present, I feel it is my duty to inform all of you that these two classes are in a league of their own when compared to years previous.**"

Once Itsuka had led her class over to stand beside Class 1-A, Midnight continued to introduce the business, general, and support classes. After all of the cheering had subsided, Midnight cast a gaze over the gathered students. "**Today is the first step in your journey as heroes. Show them what you are made of, show them that this is where you belong.**" She took pride in the determined gazes she received from all of the classes. She directed her gaze back to the stands. "**Now! We will have a word from the student that scored the highest during the practical examinations! Please welcome Izuku Midoriya to the stage!**"

Izuku, from where he stood next to Momo as her assistant, took a steadying breath and sent his class representative an appreciative smile when she gave him a pat on the back for good luck before stepping up to the podium. Midnight leaned in close, covering the microphone for a moment while she spoke with him. "You have no idea how proud we are that you are here." He didn't have to guess who she had referenced. "Give em hell, but don't give anyone a heart attack, would you?"

Izuku chuckled at her attempt at humor, but gave her a nod all the same. He waited until she stepped back before sweeping his eyes across the crowd, giving himself time to gather his thoughts. He stayed silent even after all of the cheers had stopped. He saw out of the corner of his eye the confused looks from those in the other classes and several from his own, all of them wondering why he was just standing there.

"By all counts, I shouldn't be here today." He started; his voice confident. "I grew up quirkless. I was beaten, ridiculed, laughed at, and told I had no place in this world." All sound had died out from the crowd, many of them looking uncomfortable. "Classmates, teachers, parents, policemen, and even heroes treated me worse than a second-class citizen. They treated me like I was a burden on society, like I was the problem with the world. I recognize some of those people here today." He could feel his temper flaring, but he did his best to keep it out of his voice. "I'm not the only one that has been treated this way. Everyone here judges a person's worth by their quirk. Calling some heroic and some villainous. Saying people are monsters for merely existing, putting them down for things out of their control."

Izuku frowned at the yells in agreement, locking eyes with three particular students standing below the stage with the classes. "Yett here I stand. I set a record for the written exam, and I took first place during the practical exam as well. A lot of you will claim that it shows how weak this year's class will be, but you couldn't be more wrong. My message isn't one about companionship or teamwork, because I have a stronger message for those that need to hear it. It doesn't matter who you are or what kind of quirk you have. None of that defines who you are. It is what you do that defines you. Don't let the naysayers break your resolve. No quirk is evil, no power is dark. It's all about how you use it and what you want to do. Live up to your own morals, not the ones the world is trying to force you to adopt. You're not a monster for existing. You deserve every chance at happiness as everyone else does."

Midnight stepped up and put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a very pointed look, and he nodded back to her before continuing. "Send your worst at us, we all stand together. We will all go beyond our limits, together." He finished before walking back to his class. There was small amount of applause, a polite amount of clapping, but no exuberant cheering.

"Not quite the inspiring speech, Greenie." Jiro mumbled as he stepped back into his spot.

"That's because it wasn't for you. There are people out there that need support more than we need the motivation." Izuku answered back.

Jiro gave him a look of surprise, taking in his resounding confidence. "That's… kinda heroic of you to give up your chance to gain more support for yourself just to give hope to people you don't know."

* * *

**[Unknown Bunker]**

A pair of shimmering red eyes stared at the television in the corner of the room. She didn't dare say anything, barely even let herself feel hope for a better life.

"Take the girl back to her room." The gruff voice said from beside her as he finished up wrapping up her arms. Her arms still stung and the pressure from the bandages only made them hurt more. "She needs her rest. I'm not able to take a sample today. We'll try again tomorrow."

The little girl squeezed her eyes shut to hold back the tears, but didn't fight as she was dragged away. If she fought back or tried to resist, they would only make it hurt more. '_Someone… please. Please help me._' The green haired boy's words sparked a new hope in her heart. If someone like him could succeed against all the odds, maybe she could too. She just needed to hold on a little longer.


	12. Sports Festival Pt 1

Chapter 12: Sports Festival Pt. 1

A/N: Thank you all for your comments/reviews on the last chapter, they fuel me to write faster! Please point out anything that catches your eye, both good and bad! I won't learn otherwise! For those that are questioning such things, this is not a slash/yaoi fanfiction. I have no ability or want to write that. I won't post the end relationship for Izuku because it'll be too wordy for a simple A/N. If you want to know (either so you can decide whether or not you wanna keep reading, or are just curious) send me a direct message and I'll explain it.

* * *

[Unknown Bunker]

"Izuku… Midoriya…" Vulcan mumbled to himself, ignoring the curious looks from his companions that were also watching the opening ceremony with him. He recognized the name and deep within his mind a voice was crying out but it was too quiet for him to discern what it was saying. Something told him that he had seen the boy before, a long time ago.

"Hey! That's the kid that got the best of us, Vulcan!" The man sitting next to him still had his transformed arm in a sling, still healing from the failed attack.

Was that where he remembered the kid from? No, that wasn't it. It was the name that specifically rang out to him, something about it refusing to leave him alone. "I want to know everything about him." Vulcan finally decided, directing his words to the man in a sling. "Where he grew up, who his parents are, what his favorite foods are, names of his friends… I want everything."

The man snorted. "Got a vendetta against him? Can't say I blame you; I've wanted to get a piece of him again after our first encounter. I won't make that same mistake again."

"Yeah… sure." Vulcan sounded unsure, even to himself. Suddenly he was assaulted with a vision of a woman before he grabbed his head in pain. As soon as it came, it was gone.

* * *

[?]

"Shigiraki." A deep voice called through the quiet room. The only light source came from the small television.

The teen sitting in the chair across from him grunted his acknowledgement that he had been addressed.

"Extend an olive branch. I believe it's time to introduce ourselves." The deep voice resounded with unrestrained excitement. He had been following the boy since the incident all those years ago, waiting for the right time to introduce himself. He still remembered the look of unadulterated rage on the small teen's face. He knew that expression well. It seemed to him that those feelings hadn't lessened in the years, the boy was merely better at hiding them.

* * *

[I-Island]

David Shield grinned as his daughter cheered at the television. Every year she got even more excited about the U.A. Sports Festival, asking him more and more if he was going to be sending out any apprenticeship forms. There were always one or two quirks that would benefit technological development and he was also excited to see who would catch his eye this year.

"Daddy! Did you see him?!" Melissa was bouncing in her seat, her eyes wide and glued to the sight of the green-haired boy. "If it wasn't for the hair and freckles, I wouldn't have known it was him! Why didn't he tell me he got so big?!"

David chuckled quietly. "I'm sure he had other things on his mind, dear." He had to admit, even after hearing Izuku tell him about the physical changes, he hadn't expected them to be as drastic as they were. "How's the project going? Any headway?"

Melissa waved him off carelessly. "Later. Much more important things right now. Oh! Do you think he would take his apprentice here if we invited him?" The blonde didn't take her eyes off the TV as she violently coughed into her fist.

David game a weak smile and handed his daughter a handkerchief, doing his best to keep from freaking out. Her condition had been rapidly getting worse over the past few months. "I don't believe he would."

Melissa didn't let her enthusiasm wain. "Ah! I was hoping that he would come help me with a project I've been working on. He gave me a good viewpoint the last time I talked to him and I'd like to pick his brain." David could see the calculations already filling his daughter's head. "With help I should have enough time to put the finishing touches on the AI. I've been having trouble with it's autonomy."

"Be careful with that. We don't want to have another incident like the last time you went down that route." David chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah. No more talking toasters. We know that now." Melissa grinned sheepishly. She looked back at the television. "Then again…" The screen was showing a robot that refused to go down, flames bellowing out of it's hands. "Maybe we need to program some restrictions and safeguards… just in case."

* * *

[U.A Stadium]

"Now that the opening ceremony has concluded, I invite all of you to direct your gaze up to the screens while our first years prepare themselves for the task at hand." Aizawa's voice droned out unenthusiastically. The large screen showed all of the first years taking their places in hallways assigned to their perspective class. "The first challenge is a race through an obstacle course from the opposite end of campus to the stadium. The course is littered with various scenarios heroes will encounter on a day to day basis. Successfully completing one of these scenarios will earn you a commendation. The goal is to reach the end as fast as possible, but don't let the end goal distract you from what needs to be done."

Aizawa's cohost spoke up. "ALRIGHT! A WORD OF WARNING BEFORE WE START! DIRECT AND INTENTIONALLY HINDERING THE OTHER COMPETITORS WILL EARN YOU A PENALTY, IF NOT OUTRIGHT DISQUALIFICATION! OTHER THAN THAT… ANYTHING GOES!" Mic yelled out, nearly getting drowned out by the cheers from the crowd. "BE PART OF THE FORTY COMPETITORS WITH THE FASTEST TIMES AND YOU WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ROUND! IT'S A LONG RUN, SO DON'T USE UP ALL OF YOUR STAMINA RIGHT AT THE START!"

Izuku stood at the back of his class, opting to observe the mindset of the teens in front of him. Bakugo had shoved his way to the front, glaring at the closed doors while grumbling under his breath. Todoroki stood next to him, his entire body coiled and ready to move. Kirishima looked to be shadowboxing off to the side to pump himself up. He cast his gaze over the rest of the class, smiling to himself at everyone's personal ritual to prepare themselves.

He had faith in the entirety of his class; they had trained well. Their sister class would have a good chance of making it as well, but he didn't have much information on any of the other classes. It was common knowledge that if anyone from the other classes succeeded far enough, that they could be offered a position in the hero course. Izuku would have to keep an eye on them to look for possible rivals.

The doors opened and the class charged out, the more vociferous cheering as they ran. Bakugo, being the first out the door, threw his hands behind him and released moderate explosions to propel himself forward like he had done during the quirk assessment test on the first day of school.

"RIGHT OUT OF THE GATES IT APPEARS THAT WE HAVE A SET OF LEADERS!" The screen split into three different angles to show that Bakugo and Todoroki blitzing ahead of the others. "THEY BETTER PACE THEMSELVES! THEY HAVE TWO MILES BEFORE THEY HAVE TO CIRCLE AROUND TO THE ENTRANCE OF THE STADIUM! DON'T WEAR YOURSELVES OUT TOO FAST STUDENTS!"

The area widened to show the first set of obstacles being a destroyed town with robots moving around between downed walls and small fires. As Todoroki and Bakugo came up on the first set of robots, Todoroki raised a set of walls through the center of the town, letting him run right past the perceived enemies. Bakugo on the other hand, roared and blew up two of the robots as he sprinted past.

Back with Izuku, he was keeping a moderate pace with his class, his eyes darting around to take in his surroundings. Off to the side he saw Iida engage his quirk and dart off the main road, presumably so he would have less obstacles to run around and less people to worry about hindering him.

As his group came up on the robots, a voice called out from above them. Looking up, Izuku paled. There was what appeared to be a small child hanging off a balcony. "Holy shit!" Jiro exclaimed. "They put civilians in this mess?!"

Sero was already in action, firing tape out to assist him as he ran up the side of the building. "You guys go ahead, we got him!" He called out as he climbed the building. Tsuyu was right behind him, using her strong legs to leap between two buildings to climb.

Izuku spared only a glance, knowing that the two were more than capable of handling the situation, before continuing on. In his run he could see his various classmates helping out those in distress, Momo was wrapping a bandage around an elderly lady's arm with a kind smile, Kaminari had grabbed a fallen powerline and was absorbing the electricity to allow a group of civilians to get out of harm's way. Even Mineta was helping using his quirk to stick a robot's feet to the ground, though his gloating quickly turned to fear when the robot tore up the concrete under the sticky balls, though his cries distracted the robots long enough for the little boy to run away safely.

A cry of panic drew Izuku's attention and before he even thought about it, he was vaulting over a destroyed car and taking off down a side-street. A young girl was cowering on the ground and a wall was falling towards her. Thinking fast, Izuku slid on his knees in front of the girl, his back facing her, just as the wall was about to crush her. He grunted in effort and lashed out with all the strength his arm could handle, the wall stopping for a moment as it met his fist before it cracked, then disintegrated in a shower of rubble and bits of metal.

He took the time to take in the surroundings and noticed the metal mechanism that had brought the wall down. A quick deduction had him cursing himself silently; of course the festival organizers wouldn't put civilians in harms way, it was all a ploy to see how they would react and the wall would have stopped before the girl would have gotten hurt. He filed that information away and turned to the girl with a soft smile. "You alright, little one?"

The young girl turned out to not be young at all, but an older woman with a very small physique. "Thanks for the save, hero!" The woman cheered, grinning happily. "You really saved me!"

"Can you make it out of here yourself or do you need an escort?" Izuku asked, taking the role seriously.

"Go on ahead. I didn't expect you to break the obstacle, but I have other tasks I can accomplish. Thank you though! I'll just add the rescue to your counter!"

Izuku nodded and helped the small woman to her feet, taking a moment to check her over for any further injuries and was happy to find none. "If you need a hand again…" He raised a hand and pulsed his power, a small bird landed on his palm. "I won't interfere with your tasks for other students, but if you find yourself needing ACTUAL help, call for my friend here. I'll turn around and come back for you." He looked down at the bird to address it. "Keep her in sight, but don't interfere. If she calls for you, release yourself and I'll take it from there." The bird gave a weak chirp and took to the air. Izuku watched it for a moment, making sure to memorize the unique signature in his mind and giving himself the mental command that he wouldn't call for it's help until the end of the tournament. He could call it away after the task, but something told him that it would be nice to have an eye on her in case they used the civilians in later tasks.

He only took a few moments to think about why he was taking the time to secure future help for the woman, but quickly tossed the notion out of his head. It probably had something to do with how small she was, or how old, but it didn't really matter and the deed was already done.

With another wave, Izuku took off again. He was only stopped once more on his way before he came across the second obstacle at the edge of the ruined city, a large canyon with only a few stone pillars between the two sides. He came to a stop next to a small group of his classmates that were working together to make a plan to get to the other side.

"I think I can jump across the canyon by the pillars." Tsuyu said, squatting at the ledge to gauge the distance. "But that would leave the rest of you over here."

"If we had some kind of anchor point on that side, we could drape a rope over the canyon and everyone could shimmy across it." Momo offered.

"That would work, but I don't see anything over there that we could use." Tsuyu responded emotionlessly.

"I can do it." Izuku offered, finally announcing his presence.

"Can you make it across by yourself?" Momo asked in uncertainty.

Izuku hummed with a nod. "I think I could. I could always throw you all across, I know that would work. Landing would suck though." He grinned at them.

"What about ferrying us across? Could you make the jump while holding someone?" Kaminari asked.

"I could, but…" He looked perked up and looked behind him, back towards the city when he heard footsteps approaching. "That'll work perfect! Awase, come here!"

The spiky haired teen ran up with his group. "No time to stop guys, time is ticking. What's up?" He saw the canyon behind them. "Find a way across already?"

"Yeah, but we need your help to set up an anchor on this side." Izuku turned to his friends. "Momo, do you think you could build us a bridge across?"

Momo shook her head wearily. "That kind of work would take too many of my lipids and leae me next to useless for future tasks."

"Can you make a rope long enough to get to the other side? It'd be significantly less material and could still be left over for further contestants to use."

Momo picked up on his plan right away. "Awase can weld one side over here while you and Tsuyu jump across to anchor the other side and the rest of us can climb across without fear of falling. Ochaco can use her quirk to make the ones crossing weightless so we don't weigh down the bridge while they pull themselves across." She immediately started to pull a thick rope from the center of her chest.

"Now hold on." Monoma scowled. "Why should we help you punks? We could just do that ourselves and leave you here by yourselves."

Izuku glared heatedly at the teen and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, ignoring the shocked looks from both classes. "Either you help us out or I'll throw you to the other side."

Monoma scoffed and attempted to pull himself away, but had no luck from Izuku's iron grip. "That seems counterproductive to you. It would give me a leg up over you and put me further ahead."

"Yeah?" Izuku asked, his glare darkening further. "How are you going to land when I throw you six stories in the air? I could claim that I was helping you across when they try to disqualify me for hindering you. After all, I'm helping you past the obstacle. Further that, I'm offering to be the last one to run ahead since I'll be holding the rope on the other side."

Setsuna, trying to keep the peace, stepped up and set a hand on Izuku's. "Ignore the idiot, we'll help. It's a good plan. I'll fly over with you guys. Three people as anchor will be better than two." She reasoned.

"We may want to get a move on." Uraraka spoke up, gesturing off in the distance to a their classmate Yanagi slowly hovering over the chasm, a glint of metal under her feet giving them an idea about how she was getting across.

Izuku kept his glare on the blonde, but let go and nodded. "Let's do this."

"Zuzu!"

The green-haired teen looked over to see Himiko sprinting out of an alleyway, sporting a cut on the right side of her face but grinning widely. "Give me a vault!" He didn't even bother to tell her their plan, but nodded, squatting down with his hands cupped in front of him with his back to the canyon.

The moment her foot stepped on his hand, he heaved her over his head, a small shockwave rippling out around them as she soared through the air. He didn't brother looking at her, but instead took the rope that Momo was holding limply in her hand, her eyes wide while she watched their classmate soaring through the air.

"What the hell Izuku!" Momo cried out in a panic. "She'll get hurt when she tries to land! Why did you do that? Why did you throw her up so high?!"

Izuku looked down to see Awase had already welded one side into the concrete, ignoring his classmates all yelling at him. "See you on the other side Tsu, Setsuna." He wrapped the rope around his hand and, after taking a few steps back, ran forward and launched himself across the canyon, the ground cratering under his feet as he rocketed forward. He only touched down once hallway across to leap again without even slowing down, the pillar cracking under him when he pushed off again.

His classmates back on the other side of the chasm could only stare in surprise, wondering just how Izuku had been able to cross the nearly hundred-foot gap in just two leaps.

Sliding on the ground upon landing, Izuku dug his hand into the concrete to slow his movement, ripping up a trail of destruction. No sooner had he stopped did he drop the rope and step on it to keep it from going anywhere before reaching up and catching Himiko out of the air, using his body to break her fall, his body spinning in place to dampen her velocity enough that she wouldn't be too harmed from the sudden stop.

* * *

"AMAZING!" Mic yelled over over the speakers, breaking the stunned silence. "MR. MIDORIYA HAS CIRCUMNAVIATED THE SECOND OBTACLE IN MERE SECONDS AFTER THROWING HIS CLASSMATE ACROSS THE CAVERN!"

"The catch was textbook. He absorbed Toga's descent and spun in place to dampen the inertia, all without harming her." Aizawa continued, his eyes narrowed and calculating as he watched the monitor.

Mic covered the microphone to muffle his voice. "What the hell are you teaching these kids?" He whispered out, though it still came out of the speakers.

"We don't teach advanced techniques like that until late in the second year." Aizawa answered harshly, not liking what his friend was insinuating. "That just shows how much those two are in sync. The trust that Toga would have to have to let Midoriya throw her like that, and the confidence on Midoriya's part that he could get it done… You don't see that kind of trust until you've been working with someone for years."

Midnight grinned up at the screen above them. From her place in the center of the arena where she awaited the contestants, she knew she would have more material to tease the two teens with. Izuku had been far too serious lately, maybe she could get him to slacken up a little it. If anything, hopefully she could get him thinking about dating the blonde that had had taken to gluing herself to his side.

* * *

"That was beyond stupid, Himiko." Izuku chastised her after setting her down.

Himiko held her grin. "It worked out, so you can yell at me later."

Izuku shook his head and picked the rope back up. "Get out of here, I'll see you at the finish line."

Himiko jumped forward and kissed his cheek. "Try to keep up, Zuzu!" She took off laughing before he could retort.

"You sure there's nothing goin' on between you two?" Setsuna teased him, her various body parts coming together next to him.

Izuku shot her a tired glare, but it quickly froze. His eyes darted around and he looked towards the stadium. His breathing came out ragged and panicked. "I need to go." He whispered, his hands starting to tremble.

"Izuku what-?" Tsuyu asked as she finished her journey across the canyon.

"Izuku? What's going on?" Setsuna asked worriedly.

Izuku ignored their worried expressions and closed his eyes and, with a mighty pull, he focused on the large pack of animals waiting inside the stadium and felt nearly all of the connections he had with them disappear and pushed all of his available strength into his legs.

Unknown to him, the rope slipped from his grasp, Setsuna scrambling to grab it before it could fall off the ledge. "Please be okay Nemuri." He whispered, just audibly enough for the two green-haired heroes in training to hear him.

Those two felt the air around them get drastically colder and Tsuyu, being the one that was standing in front of him, jumped back when he opened his eyes to show not his normal green eyes, but two completely black orbs looking through her. She opened her mouth to gasp, but in that same moment he shimmered and disappeared, only feeling a burst of wind rocket past her to signify where he was going.

The two exchanged worried glances, but solidified themselves to holding the rope while Uraraka used her quirk to make people weightless so they could shimmy across the rope without effort.

"What the hell was that?" Monoma cried out once he landed, both in surprise at Izuku's disappearance and anger at being left hanging on the other side of the canyon.

"He said something about Nemuri, Ms. Midnight. He looked really upset, downright panicking." Setsuna said with a sense of calm that she didn't truly feel, still standing there staring at the spot that Izuku had been standing just a few seconds prior. Midnight was her favorite teacher, someone that she aspired to be when she fully developed into a hero. She didn't care what anyone thought of her and was confident in her own abilities, not just relying on her quirk to get the job done, not giving a damn about what people thought about her.

"Well, if it is about her, then she's in the stadium awaiting us. We might as well get a move on." Kendo reasoned, trying to play off her worry. It was hard to see Izuku so shaken up like that because she hadn't remembered seeing him remotely afraid when he went up against the Nomu except when he had thought their teacher had died.

"If we stick together, we can get through the rest of the course without issue." Uraraka offered helpfully. With a consensus nod, the group took off running towards their destination.

* * *

"Bring that back up on replay." Aizawa called out, standing up so he can look closer at the monitor at where his student had just been standing. The image on the big screen in the middle of the stadium paused and rewound to play the part where Izuku had crouched down. In slow motion they watched as he opened his eyes and darted forward. Aizawa furrowed his brows. He recognized the look of determination and fear that Izuku held. It only meant one thing, that he was about to do something stupid.

"LOOK!" Mic cried out, the monitor flickering to another set of contestants. "OUR FRONTRUNNERS ARE ENTERING THE FINAL STRETCH!"

True to his words, Todoroki and Bakugo had reached the edge of the stadium and were running around the perimeter. Both of them were drenched in sweat and breathing hard, both having resorted to sprinting without use of their quirks, having exhausted themselves in their run.

The resounding cheers drowned out the commentary that Mic was spouting off until the stadium was rocked with three rapid fire crashes that shook the entirety of the stadium. A fourth crash was accompanied by the concrete wall behind Midnight exploding out. The woman shrieked in surprise and fell backwards and away from his sudden appearance.

"Looks like we have-" Aizawa seemed the least surprised and was able to continue the commentary while everyone else was reeling from the young teen's sudden appearance. Izuku however wasn't listening, his entire focus on the woman lying on the ground.

Izuku ran over and knelt next to Nemuri, his hands gliding over her extremities. "Izuku what are you doing?!"

He didn't stop checking her over however. "Do you feel alright? Weak at all? Overly tired? Any pain?" He asked rapid fire. Finally, he ended up with a hand directly over the center of her chest where he had shoved a part of his soul into her not long ago. He stared down at his hands, pushing his senses out to see if he can pick up any trace of himself still residing in her.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, trying to push his hands off of her to no avail. "Why would I be the one in pain? You're the one that just threw himself through a series of walls!"

"Nem, you disappeared." Izuku offered weakly, his voice barely more than a whisper. "I had to come to where I last felt you." He pushed her back down onto her back when she tried to get up. "Just stay there until we can determine what's happening. Knowing Recovery Girl, she should be just around the corner waiting for people to show up hurt."

"Right here, sonny." The old woman's voice cut in right next to him, causing him to jump at not having heard her approach, not even the clicking of her cane. "What's got you all in a twist now? I assume it has something to do with Miss Kayama?"

Izuku nodded, still kneeling next to the older woman, his eyes never having left her prone form. "Our connection is gone; I can't feel her anymore. I panicked. I thought something had happened and rushed here. I thought… I thought she had died again."

Chiyo groaned as she squatted down next to the Pro Hero and started checking her over. "Pulse normal, breathing is steady, eyes aren't dilated." Chiyo listed off as she went about her tests. "Any pain, at all?" With Nemuri's head shake she pursed her lips in thought, then turned to Izuku. "What about you? Any pain? Do you feel weaker?"

"When it happened, when her presence disappeared, no. There was no pain, just a sudden feeling of loss and bewilderment. Like I had taken my influence away from the undead animals I have brought back. That's what initially made me think she died. I've never had one stick around after my influence is gone." He hummed and thought for a moment longer. "I'm tired now, but that's because of how much I had to use to get here so fast. My body isn't happy about going so far, so fast. I ache everywhere, but I expect that."

"Did it feel like a boost of power? Did you feel stronger than you did just after you healed her?" Chiyo asked.

"I've progressively gotten back to where I was before the USJ incident. I had been thinking that it was getting used to my new body, but…" He admitted.

"So maybe you've been progressively reabsorbing your…" She paused and took notice that those around them were paying rapt attention to them, thought it seemed they at least weren't on the main screen. **"**Maybe you've been taking back what you gave her subconsciously or naturally. It makes sense that since it's a foreign substance, that over time she would reject it." The elder hero nodded as she spoke.

"What do you think the chances are that it'll have adverse effects to being gone?" He asked worriedly.

"We'll keep her under observation for a time. If everything stays how it is now, then I don't think we'll have to worry."

Nemuri finally pushed away their hands and sat up. "I can't just leave; we still have a festival to complete."

"Your survival is far more important than a stupid festival." Izuku argued heatedly.

"Yeah, and you and Chiyo here will be close by if something does happen. I understand the risks, but I'm telling you that I feel fine. Besides, this is your opportunity to get your name out there. I'll be fine." She assured him.

Izuku locked eyes with his all but adopted sister for several long moments before nodding. "Alright, that works for me." Standing up, he pulled her to her feet before offering a hand to the other hero. "I still think we should bring Yu around so we have an extra set of eyes on you." He felt most of his fear bleed off when her hand met his. Just that simple act grounded him with the knowledge that she was still around, still alive.

"She's patrolling the perimeter right now, but if I know her at all, then she's watching one of the monitors wondering what is going on. Probably getting ready to curse us out the next time she sees us." Nemuri responded with a grin.

* * *

"You're God damn right I'm thinking up ways to yell at the two of you!" Yu yelled at the monitor in front of her, crushing the forgotten takeaway box in her fist. Being one of the few people completely in the know about Izuku's abilities, she had taken advantage of that by taking one of the patrol areas near where she knew Izuku was staging all of his animals in case he needed them. She had questioned his intentions at not having a majority of them follow him around, but had left it be thinking he had a plan. When the entirety of them had seized up and suddenly died, again, she had freaked out and planned to rush into the task to find out what had happened. She was lucky that she still had her team with her as Death Arms and Kamui Woods were able to hold her enlarged form back long enough to see that everything was fine.

"Calm down, Mt. Lady." Death Arms folded his heavily muscled arms over his chest. "Deadboy and your lover look fine. You can yell at them during one of the breaks."

"Fine?!" Yu rounded on the large man. "Zuku went THROUGH A WALL!" She waved her hands dramatically. "Because he thought she DIED!"

"Didn't you break a wall by mistake just a few days ago?" Kamui woods chided his coworker. "And your worry is misplaced, both of them are still alive and appear to be alive and well at the moment." He said, placing a hand on her to help calm her down. "We're not saying... not to freak out, just not right now. Wait until the lunch break, then go tear them a new one. We can manage for a while without you while you make sure your family is alright."

Yu huffed and slumped her shoulders, letting her quirk release so she would shrink back down to her normal size. "Alright, fine." She grumbled. Finally, she realized that she had crushed her food and angrily threw it away. "Gonna make that punk take me out to a fancy dinner for all the shit he puts me through." She vowed with a glare at the monitor again.

* * *

David was already on his phone having a hushed, but urgent conversation by the time Melissa turned to look at him with excitement. She never had much of a problem with her father's crazed personality when it came to his inventions or a passion project. In fact, it was one of the things that she loved the most about him, how fanatical he would get when he had his mind set on what would happen.

Right now, he was worrying her with the look of desperation he held. She didn't know who was on the other side of the phone, but she could only guess that it had something to do with Izuku and his girlfriend… sister… aunt… mom? No, couldn't be his mom, they looked nothing alike. She really had no idea what their relationship was, but it was easy to tell that they were close and that Izuku had a lot of care for the woman.

She had missed the opportunity to interact too much with him during his short stay on the island, but knew she would have a chance in the future sometime. She already knew that her father was planning on inviting him to one of the upcoming conventions, so she would get a chance.

She would never admit it to anyone and would deny it to the end of her days, but she took more after her father than her overall demeanor would suggest. That's where her fascination with Izuku came from. Not his appearance, because she had no interest in that despite how handsome he was turning out to be. She admitted he was handsome, but she wasn't interested in men like that. No, her interest came strictly from the fact that he was unique and a lot of the things that happened around him were unexplainable. Unexplainable to her because her father wasn't sharing his secrets with she had first seen him, he was nothing more than a bruised, beaten, and weak looking child. Now… Now she just wanted to find out what made him change so fast, to see what had made him change so drastically.

No, when Izuku showed up for the convention, she would be sure to drag him away so she could dig into his secrets. If she could find out what exactly made him the way he was and what the catalyst was for his transformation, then she could find a way to recreate it.

It's not like he would care if she dissected him as long as she put him back together again… would he?

* * *

"DEKU!" Izuku barely held back his groan as he turned, seeing Bakugo stomping his way over. "How the hell did you get here faster than me? No one passed me the entire time, even that two-toned bastard didn't beat me here! What'd you do, give up before it even started and just wait here?"

Izuku snorted, seeing the Todoroki heir scowling at him as well, thought it appeared more contemplative than in anger, like there was something that he didn't understand about his green-haired classmate. Izuku jutted a thumb over his shoulder at the small hole in the wall. "I took the most direct route here. Not my fault you went around the stadium." He had no desire to explain to Bakugo that it hadn't been intentional and had been done in a panicked state.

"So you couldn't beat me and you cheated? Figures. You were always a loser, don't surprise me you can't even follow instructions." Bakugo threw back at him.

Izuku growled and looked over at the proctor. "I need a ruling if you have a moment, Miss Midnight." Izuku ground out, trying to hold his anger at bay. Now that he was less worried about Nemuri, he was left with anger at himself for not having thought of this possibly happening.

"What's up?" Midnight strutted up to them and cocked her hip, laying her hand on her hip.

"Two things actually. Did I break any rules on my way here?" He asked.

Nemuri held her free hand to her ear and had a brief conversation with who he assumed was a panel of judges. Eventually she grinned. "Nope. The powers that be say the only rule was you had to make it here and not to hinder any of the other contestants. There were no rules about following the laid out course or not destroying property. They do say that they will be adding to future rules based off your actions though."

"Good. Now, second thing. Bakugo is already done with the task. Would I be disqualified if I threw him back to the beginning?" He was grinning darkly now, his eyes locked onto the blonde.

"Ah…" Nemuri didn't know how to answer that right away. Her hand darted back up to her ear. "Ummm… well…" She looked up at the broadcasting booth high up in the stands for a few seconds. "No, it wouldn't disqualify you. In fact there are a few interested parties that would like to see if you could accomplish said thing… However, they are issuing a direct warning. Threats of bodily harm are not acceptable."

"Well damn. Rain check then." Izuku said with a sigh, having lost his source of entertainment.

"Midoriya." Todoroki stepped forward, gaining the undead teen's attention. "While we wait, I require a word with you."

Izuku shrugged. They had plenty of time. Only the three of them had finished so far and even after everyone was there, they would probably have a few minutes of free time between the tasks. Ignoring Bakugo's fuming anger at him not getting any attention, Izuku gestured for the teen to lead the way. He could always rush back if anything happened with Nemuri.

* * *

Izuku wasn't sure how much time had passed, but they had spent too much time in silence for his liking. He had thought that Todoroki would get on with whatever he wanted to talk about, but as soon as they left the arena into a vacant medical room down the hallway, the two-toned teen had fallen completely silent and was merely watching him.

Finally, Izuku let out a long sigh. "Alright. Are you going to bring up what's on your mind or should we call it a wash and try again later?"

"I will start with my gratitude." Todoroki finally spoke up for the first time.

Izuku cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Yaoyoruzu." Todoroki clarified. "I've seen how your support affects her. She is a strong woman that is trying to attain a semblance of independence, to make a name for herself. That would not be possible without her friends giving her the confidence to continue. As much support that we give her, it wouldn't be possible without what you and Toga are doing."

"Everyone deserves the chance to have their name recognized outside of what their parents or family are known for. We've merely given her that opportunity." Izuku said seriously.

"I will warn you; whatever you are doing, it's working twofold. The negativity that her parents are trying to push on her was breaking her resolve and tarnishing her self-image. It's also causing her an undue amount of stress. She is worried about what you are doing and how it will affect her parents down the line and their relationship. From what I understand, she is appreciative of your intervention with Toga, but do not push it too far."

"I've not touched her family, nor their business empire." Izuku spat out the word with obvious distaste. "I'm just playing into their fears. Don't worry yourself about it, I'm only doing what I must to give her this chance. I know what it's like to not have your family believe in you, nobody deserves that pain."

Todoroki hesitated for a moment, but nodded. "There is a lot about you that is either unknown or left in obscurity. How you attained your… powers." He knew how vehement Izuku was about his powers not being labeled as a quirk, he just didn't know why. "What you're truly capable of, how you've changed our class to allow Toga into it." He furrowed his brows in a small glare. "She wasn't written into the class until after the class list had already been released, and with how attached she is to you, it's only logical to say that you had a large part in it. What with her past being completely unknown, almost as if she appeared a month before class started, it only makes it all the more questionable."

"You're pretty observant to have figured all of that out so soon. Everyone deserves a second chance." Izuku said coolly. "Leave it at that. Do not dig into her past."

"That aside, you hold an immense strength. I can count on one hand the number of times you have failed or been bested. Almost all of those instances had secondary reasons that explained your loss." Todoroki pulled himself up straighter and leveled an icy glare at the taller teen. "Today will be different. I will beat you. I will show you that my strength exceeds yours."

"I sure hope so." Izuku chuckled to himself. "I'm strong and can take a hit; most of my talent comes from being reactionary, stopping villains after they've made their intentions clear. It takes time to draw up and use what I did to get through the stadium so fast and it takes a lot out of me. But you are a completely different type of hero, you can stop them before anything happens. That being said, if you don't come at me with everything you have, I'll keep knocking you down until your resolve bests mine. If you want to beat me, you'll need to stoke the fires within you."

Todoroki looked rather put out at that. "I don't think you understand, I'm telling you that I'm going to beat you without my father's quirk."

Izuku let out a sigh. "That's what I'm talking about. You're hindering yourself needlessly."

"Needlessly?" Todoroki threw the deadliest glare he could at the taller boy. "Do you have any idea what I've had to deal with under my father?"

"Not a clue." Izuku admitted unabashedly. "Make me understand."

Todoroki, taken aback by the seriousness in Izuku's tone, paused for only a moment before continuing. "Have you heard of quirk marriages?" Izuku nodded seriously so Todoroki continued. "My mother was sold offby her parents to Endeavor because of her quirk. He thought it would work well with his, a fusion of ice and fire to surpass the Number didn't love him, but loved her family enough to know that the money he gave them would provide them with a good life."

Izuku could only hold his reaction for so long before a dark frown filled his visage. "The way you said it makes it sounds like a past tense. Did things change or should I be offering condolences?"

"I can't imagine her image of him got any better after what he put her through. I'm the youngest of four attempts and the only one born with both of their quirks combined. She was a great mother and it took me a long time to realize what she went through before her eventual breakdown." He reached up and touched the scarred skin of his face. "Eventually it got to the point that she had a mental breakdown and attacked me in a blind rage. After she was put into a mental institution did I come to find out how horribly he treated her."

Izuku felt there was more to the story so he didn't say anything and let Todoroki work through it at his own pace. "He never beat me, I was his perfect child, the only way he could surpass All Might. I found out he used to beat my mother whenever I failed or wasn't living up to expectations, then he started in on my sister."

"Started in on your sister? That is that supposed to mean?" Izuku was hoping that he was misreading the situation, but that hope was fleeting.

"After my mother was hospitalized, he needed someone else to keep me in line. My brothers were never close to me and my sister, Fuyumi, tried to care for me the best that she could because she saw what was happening. He used that closeness between us as a motivator and would threaten to hurt her if I misbehaved or wasn't progressing fast enough."

Izuku's scowl became murderous. "And you're refusing to use his quirk in an attempt to show him that you don't need it or him to become the best?"

Todoroki nodded. "After what happened to my mother and sister, I decided that I would use my mother's quirk exclusively."

"Your father is a piece of shit." Izuku spat out. "Regardless of his reason or what he wanted to do, there is no excuse for what he did. However…" Izuku stepped forward and pushed Todoroki against the wall roughly, much to the teen's surprise. "What you're doing is spitting in the face of their sacrifice. Your mother suffered, for what I suspect to be years, and you would throw that all away to spite your father."

"You don't understand." The temperature around Todoroki sharply declined and he slapped aside Izuku's hand on his chest. "I'm doing this for them."

"No, you're hiding from the pain. If you use the quirk you inherited from him, you think you'll be no better than him, that you'll end up turning into him or that you'll only be proving him right. You're already doing that by trivializing their sacrifice. How does your mother and sister feel about this? Do they support what you're doing?"

Todoroki looked a little put out, but his anger held firm. "I haven't seen my mother since the day she was shipped off to the mental institution almost ten years ago. Her last words were that I reminded her of him, how could I look at her and remind her of everything she went through?"

"So, she never supported you being a hero? Are you spitting on that too?"

"Don't you dare." Todoroki whispered heatedly. "The only reason I'm here is because she believed I could help people. I can only imagine that's why she stuck around for so long."

"I know full well the folly of law enforcement and how corrupt they are. If your mother had gone to them about her abuse, there is a good chance that she would have been discredited and shunned by society for trying to tarnish a great hero's reputation." Izuku didn't let up in his glare. "I understand that your mother hurt you and likely nothing will ever make up for what she did, regardless of her mental state or intentions. But to sit here and say you're doing all of this for her when you abandoned her at her lowest point? You're pathetic."

"What would you know?! You're mother's dead!" Todoroki regretted the words the moment they came out.

"Funny, I hadn't thought about it that way." Izuku said condescendingly. "You're exactly right. I have no idea what it's like to have your entire world flipped upside down and have the person you cared for more than anything stolen from you. How careless of me."

Izuku poked a finger into Todoroki's chest again. "Don't let what happened break your relationship with your mother, nor your sister. If your sister is still suffering for what happened, then you owe it to her to get her out of that situation. Stop with the pity party." He pointed his other hand towards the arena where their classmates were starting to arrive. "You weren't abandoned by your family and society because they feared your quirk, your quirk didn't kill your parents making society try to exercise your very being because they thought you were a demon, nor are you ostracized by your classmates because they think you'll manipulate them into doing what you want."

Izuku turned his hand and pointed at himself. "Nor do you have to look your murderer in the eyes on a daily basis while they get off scot-free." Todoroki's eyes widened in horror, but Izuku wasn't done. "I'm not saying you haven't suffered, because it's obvious you have, but don't you dare say you're doing all of this for the people that were hurt for you. Stop giving this half-assed effort and start doing it right or get out of our line of work. You've already watched one hero die to someone much stronger than them, and if you keep it up, you'll be the cause of more deaths that you could have prevented."

"But you brought her back!" Todoroki yelled out.

"Because I was willing to give my all. I was willing to give my life to make sure she survived and you aren't even willing to be uncomfortable by using your daddy's quirk. Endeavor will get what's coming to him, but it's up to you to do your best and give your all at every time and in every instance. Go to your mother, don't let her wallow in her mistakes. You have a lot of good in you, don't let that piece of shit Endeavor steer you down the path you're going. My mother's dead and I'll never be able to see her again. Yours is still out there, likely regretting what she did and killing herself inside because she thinks you hate her."

Izuku turned and left, but stopped a few feet away. "Don't turn out like me, you're better than that." He ignored Todoroki's questioning comments and made his way out to the arena to find that nearly everyone had arrived and they were waiting on just three more contestants.

Spotting his target, Izuku stormed his way over to where the girls in his class were congregated, all talking animatedly about the first task. He grabbed Himiko by her arm roughly, ignoring the shocked looks from the others. "Change of plans. Cancel everything. Except during the tasks, you don't leave my side, understand?"

Himiko flinched back at the glare and rough treatment, but could tell that none of it was directed at her. She put a hand gently on the one that was still gripping her arm tightly. "Are you sure?" Izuku's glare didn't lessen. "Alright." She finally said with a nod. He'd tell her about it later if he thought it important enough.

"Everything okay, Zuzu?" She asked worriedly after a few long seconds.

The undead teen realized how he was holding her and quickly let go of her arm, blanching at the red handprint on her arm. "No, no it isn't." He whispered, gently touching her arm with his fingertips. "Sorry Himiko."

"It's alright." She said waving away his worries. "I'm tough enough to deal with a couple bruises."


End file.
